Tottenham news: Crystal Palace will face England - Roy Hodgson

ROY HODGSON takes his Crystal Palace strugglers to Wembley this afternoon to face a group of potential world champions.

Tottenham are consisted of numerous England internationalsGETTY

Tottenham are consisted of numerous England internationals

Given the number of Tottenham players in the England set-up right now, Hodgson and co are up against a Spurs side that could be the ‘English’ champions at the end of the season – if only because title favourites Manchester City have so many foreigners. 

As it stands, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Harry Kane, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks all look set to be in England’s World Cup squad in Russia next summer.

And if history is anything to go by, teams that include a high number of players from the same club do well in the World Cup or even win it.

Hodgson, who took little Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup finals with five players from FC Sion in his squad, is convinced Spurs are out of a similar mould.

He said: “There is no doubt that Tottenham will be the team with the biggest number of Englishmen in their Premier League side. 

“Most of the other clubs don’t have the sort of number in their 18-man squad as Spurs do in their first team.”

There is no doubt that Tottenham will be the team with the biggest number of Englishmen in their Premier League side

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson

Hodgson believes that could also be a massive boost to England’s World Cup. “It is a big advantage for Gareth (Southgate) to have a group from the same team as long as the two philosophies don’t conflict – and I’ve seen no sign of that,” he said. Hodgson pointed to the legendary Dutch teams of the 1970s, which included many Ajax players. 

The West German side that lifted the last World Cup had seven Bayern Munich stars in it, while the Spain side that conquered the world four years earlier included seven from Barcelona. But at the moment it’s club before country as Hodgson battles to lift Palace out of the doldrums.

That’s why he is hoping Andros Townsend can give the sort of performance the Premier League’s bottom dogs need right now, one which will make his old club regret letting him go. 

Hodgson left Townsend out of his England squad for last year’s Euros but reckons he’s improved enormously since then.

“He’s an incredible professional and is definitely moving in the right direction,” Hodgson added. “If we start to play a bit better and he gets among the goals, he has the ability to be an England player.”

By contrast, Mauricio Pochettino sends out his Spurs stars with confidence sky high after their Champions League win over Real Madrid – and the Tottenham boss is dismissing speculation he will eventually join the Spanish giants.

“I don’t think too much about my future,” Pochettino said. “I only think about today. I don’t care what happens around myself because I am so happy here.”

“My motivation is to work and to create something special at 45 years old. I feel part of the project and for me the most important club in the world is Tottenham.” 

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?