Roy Hodgson pleased with players

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – NOVEMBER 14: Steven Caulker of England shakes hands with England manager Roy Hodgson after being subbed during the international friendly match between Sweden and England at the Friends Arena on November 14, 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Despite a 4–2 defeat, England Head Coach Roy Hodgson praised his players after the international friendly clash with Erik Hamren´s Sweden at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on Wednesday evening. Paris Saint-Germain centre forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic registered all four goals for Sweden in their victory over The Three Lions.

Roy Hodgson: “I took the risk to give debutants a chance, obviously that will open things up, and I was hoping we would hold out. I thought our passing and movement was good and when we took the 2–1 lead it was a correct assessment of what we had seen on the field. Ibrahimovic being kept on cost us a result. I thought the debutants were good, all of them did fine and I am certainly a wiser man than I was before this game, going into 2013. We were undone by some individual brilliance and maybe a bit of inexperience.