World Cup 2014: England manager Roy Hodgson suggests he will stick with the old guns in Brazil but praises Ravel Morrison and Saido Berahino

Young talent coming through will challenge for World Cup spots

Roy Hodgson is set to pick his experienced players in Brazil (Getty Images)

Roy Hodgson will not dump any of England's old guard without a great deal of thought.

Frank Lampard is due to celebrate his 36th birthday during next summer's World Cup and fellow midfielder Michael Carrick will be 33 not long after it.

Given skipper Steven Gerrard is 34 in May it presents Hodgson with a tricky dilemma given the heat England could experience in Brazil.

There have already been suggestions one of Lampard or Carrick, and possibly both, might be ignored when Hodgson names his final 23-man squad at the beginning of June.

But it is not a decision he will take lightly.

"You're not going to jettison any players light-heartedly," he said.

"These players have done extremely well so far. I will be monitoring them and working with them and we'll see what happens.

"Selection could be very difficult. We've got a lot of very good young players coming through and we've still got the good old guard ready and able to play as well.

"It's not going to be easy and it will give me lots of reason for thought.

"But I don't think I'll bother about it so much in October. Sometimes these things take care of themselves."

In addition to the players already on the fringes of Hodgson's squad, such as Everton's Ross Barkley, who are likely to get an opportunity in next month's friendly double-header that will include a Wembley meeting with Germany, others are beginning to press their claims as well.

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison is one such example.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a sensational start to the season and handled the transition to England Under-21 duty pretty well judging by his goalscoring contribution to wins against San Marino and Lithuania.

Yet Hodgson is urging caution.

"I know Ravel Morrison is a player who interests you all," he said.

"He interests us as well because the lad has got fantastic talent.

"Saido Berahino, whom I know well from my West Brom days, has been a breath of fresh air too.

"I do like the way the under-21s play. With their movements and passing ideas it is a mirror image of what we are trying to do.

"But, to be fair, San Marino and Lithuania Under-21s are not quite the same level as we are talking about with the England senior team.

"And I have to say, (Danny) Welbeck, (Kyle) Walker, (Jack) Wilshere, even to some extent Ross Barkley, have proved they can do it.

"So these young lads have a few of their own to get past before we even start talking about Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard."

PA