Photo Gallery Feeble Hopes for the Three Lions
English side manager Roy Hodgson observes his players during a training session at the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Though his team has managed to reach the quarter-finals, but only optimists believe they'll make it much further.
Hodgson, who doesn't quite fit in with the "lad culture" of English football, was widely mocked by the country's press when he was hired. But some fans still showed support, erecting a reproduction of Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue with Hodgson's face above the White Cliffs of Dover.
Here, the team poses for a group photograph in Krakow, where they are staying during the tournament. The team's spokesman has said they are all trying to be "good tourists."
But tourists are likely all they'll be. Striker Wayne Rooney is the team's only world-class player.
Former national team player Rio Ferdinand was left off the roster. Many suspect the move is related to drama surrounding a racial slur made against his brother Anton by national player John Terry. Despite Rio Ferdinand's experience with the team, Hodgson passed over him, citing "football reasons" for the decision. No one is buying that logic, though -- the assumption is that Hodgson simply wanted to keep the peace on a team that includes Terry.
The English team hasn't managed to pull off their aim of being "good tourists" very well. When Hodgson and six of his players visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and former concentration camp, they had the memorial site cleared before they got out of their bus. Two days before, the Italian team had simply mingled with other visitors at the site.
The only English player who nearly always greets fans, waves and signs autographs is none other than John Terry, shown here. He has a court date set for week after the championship, where he'll have answer to the accusations concerning the incident with Anton Ferdinand. He has denied the accusations and declines to comment on the matter.
