Roy Hodgson will keep his faith in Joe Hart on Tuesday, as England aim to bounce back from the defeat against Chile with a game against old rivals Germany.
The Three Lions boss has always said that Manchester City ‘keeper Hart is still his first choice for England and he will replace Fraser Forster in the starting line-up at Wembley next week.
And despite the 27-year-old having lost his spot in the City team in recent weeks, Hodgson believes Hart will be ready to deal with the pressure of stepping back into international football.
“When you put that England shirt on, whether it be a white shirt or a goalkeeper’s jersey, it will be a tough mental test and a tough test of attitude,” said Hodgson.
“But I fully believe that Joe understands that and is ready for that.
“Joe Hart’s an experienced goalkeeper, he understands the way of the world.”
Roy Hodgson England Manager
“All I can do is give him the shirt and the chance to go out and play and afterwards, he’s going to have to face whatever he faces.
“Whether he plays well and keeps a clean sheet to help us to win the game - I’m sure people are going to be saying some very good things about him - but if he doesn’t and lets a couple of easy goals in, he’s going to have to accept that there’ll be criticism because that’s the way of the world we live in.”
With Celtic’s Forster and Norwich City stopper John Ruddy both competing with Hart for that goalkeeping spot in Hodgson’s team, there is always the option to make that change.
Hodgson did that against Chile by giving Forster his debut, with Ruddy also on standby for an appearance from the bench on Tuesday.
But Hodgson knows he doesn’t need to explain anything to Hart, who has 37 caps to his name, or his squad-mates.
“Joe Hart’s an experienced goalkeeper, he understands the way of the world,” added Hodgson.
“He understands that if he loses his place in the Manchester City team and is criticised for letting a couple of goals in, then what happened will happen.
“I don’t need to take him aside and say: ‘Joe, this is what happens in football’.
“I’ve got too much respect for him as a professional and as a man to do that.
“I always try to tell players things they haven’t talked about but I won’t try and teach them to suck eggs.
“I can’t change things for players in that respect. I can’t tell you to be happy about it, I can’t stand here in front of you and give you false positives.
“We lost [on Friday] basically because Chile were very good and we weren’t good enough, so that’s sobering and tough enough to take – but don’t go and beat yourself up about it.
“We’ve had plenty of pats on the back recently and you know unfortunately this game of football gives you pats on the back but it also gives you slaps in the face.”
