By Phil McNulty
England manager Roy Hodgson insists his side are still in control of their World Cup destiny despite a disappointing draw against Montenegro.
The 1-1 result in Podgorica leaves Montenegro two points clear at the top of qualifying Group H.
Hodgson said: “It is in our hands because we play Montenegro and Poland at home and we have to go to Ukraine.
“But with three of our remaining four games at home it’s in our hands and we intend to keep it that way by winning.”
England let the game in Podgorica slip following a promising start which saw Wayne Rooney score after six minutes, heading in Steven Gerrard’s corner.
Montenegro were a different team in the second half and substitute Dejan Damjanovic’s scrambled goal 13 minutes from time earned the home side a deserved point.
It was a similar story to the Euro 2012 qualifier in October 2011 when England, then under Fabio Capello, took a 2-0 lead before conceding two goals with Rooney also being sent off.
That point earned England a place at the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, but their chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil remain in the balance.
They have now only beaten San Marino (twice) and Moldova, while drawing with Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro.
Hodgson added: “In the second half we lost our control and Montenegro had a good spell, took the game to us, forced a lot of corners and one resulted in their equaliser.
“My overall feeling is one of disappointment because things looked good for us at half-time.”
Hodgson, meanwhile, defended his decision to make only one change as England deteriorated desperately in the second half, sending on Ashley Young for Tom Cleverley after Montenegro had equalised.
He said: “The change we thought we would make, and we tried to hold on to make it slightly later, was the one we eventually did make. We had it planned but they scored from a corner kick.
“We thought we would move Steven Gerrard a little bit deeper and get Ashley Young on. I actually thought in the last 10 minutes we did quite well and came in with a few more chances.”
