By SHAUN CUSTIS
England’s 1-1 draw in Montenegro has made the nightmare of being thrown into the play-offs a harsh reality.
And the prospect of facing the likes of Portugal, France or Croatia in a two-legged tie makes the thought of the Three Lions boarding a plane to Brazil 2014 seem a long way off.
Boss Hodgson said: “If, as a result of our performances, we are second in our group then we will worry about the team we have to face in the play-offs.
We’re a couple of points down on what we’d have liked and nobody wants to be in the play-offs
“But the fact is that, in the World Cup qualifiers, only one team goes straight through.
“In the play-offs it’s going to be a good team because, in every group, there are at least two good teams.
“In fact, I would suggest there are more than two good teams in some of the groups.
“I will worry about the play-offs when the play-offs come around.
“At the moment I shall focus all my attention on, first of all, the summer, to try to do as good a job as possible when we go to Brazil for a friendly and also when we play Ireland at home.
“Then I shall work even harder to focus my attention on those important four qualifiers through September and October.
“We’re hanging on in there and we hope that, come October, we get the points we need to win the group.
“We have three matches at home and one difficult one away in Ukraine so, by at least not losing in Montenegro, we keep it in our hands and we give ourselves a chance.
“It’s not just a question of our games.
“Montenegro have got to play Ukraine and Poland so it’s not just as simple as us against them.”
The draw away to the Group H leaders on Tuesday has hugely increased the pressure on Hodgson.
He has been widely blasted for not making a substitution early in the second half when a resurgent Montenegro poured on the pressure and got their equaliser.
Despite an official world ranking of No 4, England have not beaten a recognised top-class team in a competition since Argentina in 2002.
And England have won just two of their last five home qualifiers in both the Euros and World Cup.
They beat Wales and San Marino and have had draws against Montenegro, Switzerland and Ukraine.
At present there are no seedings for the play-offs but, in the past, FIFA have introduced them late on to help bigger nations get through.
The cost to the FA of missing out on the World Cup would be upwards of £20m.
