Adam Lallana - The last three friendlies have mostly served to highlight quite how far off the pace England are when it comes to the World Cup favourites. The one bright spark has been the emergence of Lallana as an international player. One of the most impressive English performers in the Premiership this year, Lallana has only played these three England games but, across the three friendlies as a whole, has probably been England's best performer. Despite coming up with Southampton from League 1 he never looked less than at home in an England shirt. Against Denmark his introduction made the difference with Lallana one of the few players to make incisive runs and create chances, including a bit of brilliant play to set up the goal. Good on and off the ball, able to play in the middle or wide, the Saints captain is the kind of complete player Hodgson needs in the squad. Hopefully he has even impressed the manager enough for a starting berth against Italy. Raheem Sterling - Sterling's excellent run of form has come at just the right time for the Liverpool winger to make it into Hodgson's World Cup team. Unlike fellow Merseysider Ross Barkley, who began the season better than he has been in recent weeks, Sterling has gone from strength to strength and was rewarded with a starting place against Denmark. With the England team having a core of Liverpool players including Johnson, Gerrard and Sturridge, Sterling was able to transfer his club form to the national team, winning Man of the Match. Fast and lively and capable of switching from one wing to the other, Sterling looked good against Denmark but perhaps lacked the cool head and creative incisiveness of Lallana. Still, with Theo Walcott out of action, Sterling looks the top choice for a pacey winger. Ashley Cole - The one obvious first teamer to get a rest against Denmark was left back Leighton Baines, giving Hodgson a chance to choose between the youth of Luke Shaw and the experience of Cole. Both players were given half a game, which taught the manager very little he didn't already know about a man who already had over 100 caps. Cole's performance was merely solid, but showed that he can still be relied on, even if the 33 year old is increasingly out of favour at Chelsea. The selection of Sterling aside, Hodgson does not appear to be building a team for the future, seeming to place greater emphasis on reliable old hands. This is not just good news for Cole, but for other 30-something England players passed their prime, like Frank Lampard, James Milner and maybe even Gareth Barry. Chris Smalling - Another player who did not especially impress against Denmark, but probably booked his place in Brazil, Smalling looks more comfortable in the centre of defence than at right back and the lack of other options in central defence make him worthy of inclusion as back up to probable starting pair Cahill and Jagielka.
