West Ham’s Cole is ready to be part of Hodgson’s plans for 2014.
Ex-Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole wants to have a good season with West Ham United to try and get a place in the England squad for the player’s fourth successive World Cup.
Cole featured at the tournaments in 2002, 2006 and 2010, but the 31-year-old has been out of favour on the national scene for some time following an unsuccessful spell at Anfield.
“I have been to three World Cups, so I would love to do it again, but it is just a case of how well I play at West Ham – that’s the main thing,” Cole was quoted by the Mirror.
“I am still only 31, so if people look at it like that, I can still do a job for England, but we will just have to see what happens.”
The Englishman also had a year on-loan in France with Ligue 1 side Lille in 2011/12, before joining the Hammers in January of this year.
It is now a career that has gone full circle for Cole, having progressed from the West Ham youth team back in 1998 before being signed by the Blues when Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
The England international won three Premier League titles in seven years at Stamford Bridge, before leaving on a free transfer for Merseyside – and was then sent off on the first day of the 2010/11 season.
Hodgson’s side still have no guarantees about even making the tournament in Brazil next summer, with a qualifying campaign of late that has been inconsistent.
Montenegro top the group, but it is still in the Three Lions’ hands as victories in their four remaining matches would ensure a first-placed finish.
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