Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's friendly between England and Denmark at Wembley. It is an important date in the build-up to England's World Cup campaign and a number of players will be looking to impress Hodgson tonight as his squad for the tournament begins to take shape. It may only be a friendly, but the hosts in particular have plenty to play for. Let's start with a look at the teams...

ENGLAND STARTING XI: Hart; Johnson, Cole, Cahill, Smalling; Gerrard, Wilshere, Henderson; Sturridge, Rooney, Sterling

DENMARK STARTING XI: Schmeichel; Jacobsen, Agger, Kjaer, Ankersenn, Kvist, Poulsen, Sloth, Krohn-Delhi, Bendtner, Larsen

Tonight marks the first of four World Cup warm-up matches for England before their campaign begins against Italy in Manaus in June 14. This games is particularly important as it will be the last time that Hodgson gets to see his side play before he picks his provisional 30-man squad for the finals in May. He will then see that squad take on Peru before naming his final squad three days later. There are a number of places still up for grabs in that squad, so there will be plenty of players wanting to prove themselves tonight.

Despite only securing their qualification on the final day of the group stages, England ended up enjoying a very successful campaign overall. They finished top of Group H, one point above Ukraine having not lost a single game. Only Germany and the Netherlands scored more goals in the European qualifying section, with England finding the net 31 times in 10 matches, while only Spain conceded fewer than England's four goals. Overall, only Netherlands finished the campaign with a better goal difference, which is not too shabby for the Three Lions.

However, since then England have lost two out of two matches, with both defeats coming at Wembley. Chile and Germany were the sides that beat them on those occasions, but Hodgson may not be expecting quite as tough a test this time around, with all due respect to Denmark. He will be hoping that they don't suffer another loss otherwise he will have his own unenviable slice of history to look back on. No England manager has ever lost three home games in a row with the team.

The last time England failed to win three games in a row at home was back in 2007, almost seven years ago. They traditionally have a very impressive record at Wembley, but Denmark will fancy their chances of pulling off a shock tonight. On their last visit to England, back in 2003, they came away from Old Trafford with a 3-2 victory despite Wayne Rooney opening the scoring for the Three Lions.

Denmark agonisingly missed out on World Cup qualification themselves, finishing second in Group B behind England's World Cup opponents Italy. However, they ended the campaign with the lowest points tally out of the teams who finished second, meaning that they missed out on the playoffs.

Both Italy and Czech Republic also in their group made it a tough one for Morten Olsen's side, but ultimately it was a shocking 4-0 home defeat to Armenia that proved the costliest moment. A draw in that match would have seen them into the playoffs as they finished with just a point less than Croatia, Iceland and France. In addition to that, none of those three teams scored more goals than the Danes managed, so they will consider themselves unfortunate not to be on the plane to Brazil.

They come into this match in good form having not lost in five matches, including a very respectable 2-2 draw against Italy in that group stage. They finished the campaign with a thumping 6-0 win over Malta, but it was too little too late for them. England would arguably take a draw in their opening match against Italy in the World Cup, so they will know that Denmark will be no pushovers if they managed the same result against the Azzurri.

Morten Olsen will now be focusing his attention on the 2016 European Championships qualifying campaign, where they find themselves in a group with Portugal, Serbia, Albania and Armenia. They will fancy their chances of competing with those teams, although Portugal will surely be favourites going into the campaign. It could well turn into a straight shootout between Denmark and Serbia for second place.

The Danes have a number of players that will be recognisable to English football fans, not least in the form of Nicklas Bendtner up front. The Arsenal man has found himself down the pecking order with the Gunners but tonight will be a chance to remind people what he can do. Kvist and Schmeichel also ply their trade in England, while Liverpool's Daniel Agger finds himself up against five club teammates tonight.

The big Liverpool contingent will make for an interesting dynamic in the England squad. Gerrard and, to a lesser extent, Johnson, have been regulars for a while now, but the likes of Sterling, Sturridge and Henderson have all performed very well in the Premier League so far. If they can link up in a similar way this evening then Denmark will have trouble stopping them.

It is a strong lineup Roy Hodgson has named, with several big hitters such as Gerrard, Rooney and Hart all starting. There was speculation that they may be rested in order to give Hodgson a chance to look at lesser-known talent, but it is clear that he doesn't want a third straight home defeat. Ashley Cole is a noticeable inclusion on the left as he has not featured for Chelsea much this season, and it appears to be a race between him and Luke Shaw, who is expected to make his debut tonight, for the second left-back spot with Leighton Baines.

PREDICTION: We're five minutes from kickoff at Wembley, which means that it is time for my match prediction! England's last two performances at Wembley certainly brought them crashing back down to earth after their qualification, but they should have enough about them to see off Denmark this evening. It is a strong team and, while many of the players may not re-emerge for the second half, the bench is full of players eager to make their mark on proceedings. I'm going for a 3-0 home win.

England's last four home wins over Denmark have all been by a solitary goal to nil, but the most recent of those came almost 20 years ago to the day when David Platt scored the only goal. The last meeting between these two sides anywhere was in 2011, when Darren Bent and Ashley Young cancelled out an Agger goal to hand England a 2-1 win.

Before kickoff we will have an minute's applause in honour of the great Sir Tom Finney, in addition to the coach of the Denmark side who miraculously won the 1992 European Championships, both of whom died recently. It is well appreciated by Wembley.

KICKOFF: Denmark get us underway at Wembley on an important night for England. Performance may be the priority here rather than a good result, but they certainly won't want a third straight home defeat for the first time in history.

Bright start from England as they come forward down the right flank. Johnson gives the ball to his Liverpool teammate Sterling, who spins away from his man in the box but scuffs a cross/shot at the keeper from an impossible angle.

There are 99 days until the World Cup begins, and Hodgson does still have a number of questions to ask. The likes of Sterling, Henderson and even Ashley Cole are not assured of their place on the plane yet, so there will be individual performances to watch in both halves.

It hasn't exactly been a great start from the hosts, but they are seeing a decent amount of the ball and are yet to be threatened defensively. It is a little shaky so far, but if they can keep hold of possession for a while then they should settle soon enough.

Sterling is looking to get past his man at every available opportunity in these opening stages. He manages it here, gaining a yard but clipping his subsequent cross to an empty back-post area.

UPDATE: A number of matches began earlier than us at Wembley this evening, and as a result some of them have seen goals already. Wales lead Iceland through John Collins, Ireland are ahead against Serbia thanks to a Shane Long strike and Germany lead Chile through Mario Gotze.

Worrying signs for England and Arsenal as Wilshere goes down in a heap after a challenge from Agger. The Denmark captain had a heavy touch to start with and went sliding in in an attempt to keep possession. He did manage to do that, but he also caught Wilshere on the top of the foot. That looks like a painful one.

Those replays will prompt hushed mentions of the 'dreaded metatarsal'. It was right on the top of his foot as he kicked the bottom of Agger's boot, and England and Arsenal will be hoping that it is just an impact injury rather than anything more serious.

Indeed, Wilshere is up and back on his feet, so it doesn't appear to be as bad as it could have been. Lallana was getting ready to come on, but it looks as if Hodgson may give Wilshere a bit of time to run it off.

Gerrard pings a ball out to Cole, who cuts inside Larsen and draws a foul from the attacker. Gerrard is now standing over this free kick in a very good crossing position...

The skipper whips it in to a dangerous area, but his club teammate and opposing captain Agger defends it well on the edge of his own six-yard box.

SHOT! Denmark break from that free kick and the ball is crossed towards the back post, where Krohn-Deli has peeled off his man and stands unmarked. He chooses to take the shot on the first-time volley, but smashed his effort over the bar. That would have been some strike.

YELLOW CARD! Really good play from Gerrard as he steals the ball from Sloth in a very good position before bursting through on goal. The Denmark defender cynically trips him just as he is about to pull the trigger, and is rightly put into the book. That was a very good chance for Gerrard and in a competitive game there may have been questions of a red, despite two centre-backs being between the ball and the goal.

Rooney takes the free kick, but clips it well over the crossbar. That was a poor effort for the United man as it was a very good position.

CHANCE! Rooney times a run to perfection to beat the Denmark offside trap and he also beats Schmeichel to the ball, knocking it past the keeper. However, the angle is tight and it is a tough one to get on target, and Rooney can only send it across the face.

Half chance for England as a Gerrard corner is flicked on at the front post into the middle of the area, Cahill takes it down really well on his chest before blasting a volley over, but the referee has given a handball against the Chelsea man anyway.

Important defensing from Smalling as Korhn-Deli manages to keep the ball in play when it looked to be on the way out. His cross takes Hart by surprise and he needs Smalling there to clear the danger from inside his own six-yard box.

England have certainly improved in the last five or ten minutes. There have been a number of bright pieces of play that have troubled the Denmark defence, although they are yet to turn that into a chance that would really troubled Schmeichel. Rooney's run and touch past the keeper is the best sight of goal that they have enjoyed so far.

The England front three are switching about with some regularity, which is no real surprise considering that two Liverpool players are in there. Sturridge and Sterling will be used to swapping positions, and right now Sterling is on the left, Sturridge down the middle and Rooney on the right.

UPDATE: Wales have been pegged back by Iceland in their friendly and are now level at 1-1. Gudmundsson got the goal for the visitors.

Nervy moment for the hosts as a fine ball is clipped over towards Bendtner, who looks to have got behind the defence. Cahill just gets his head on it and almost diverts it over Hart, but the Man City keeper sticks up a hand and plucks it out of the air right on the edge of the box.

CLOSE! Sturridge does really well on the right side of the box, throwing a stepover to beat his man before drilling a cross/shot right across the face of goal. Rooney is inches from turning it in at the back post, but he just can't get to it as it flashes out for a goal kick.

The build-up has often been too laboured for England so far this evening. Their best moments have been when they inject a little bit of pace into their attack and move the ball quickly, but Denmark are well marshalled defensively and are dealing with most of the questions that England are coming up with.

UPDATE: One of the more appealing friendlies taking place tonight sees France hosting Netherlands. France have now taken the lead in that match, with Karim Benzema scoring the goal to make it 1-0.

Rooney hasn't been to prominent tonight, but he looks to put his name in lights here. Sterling drops the ball back to him and he immediately moves it onto his right foot before attempting to curl it into the far top corner. However, he gets it all wrong and sends it a long way off target.

CHANCE! Huge chance for Denmark as they cut through the England defence all too easily, allowing Poulsen to run through on goal. However, he takes one touch too many, before scuffing an effort past Hart. It is bobbling wide until Cahill makes a muddled clearance and Cole scrambles it clear.

That was the best chance of the match so far and it will serve as a reminder to England that, for all their possession, they need to create more with the ball. Many of these players won't last the full 90 minutes, so they need to take this opportunity to shine, particularly those playing for a World Cup place.

OFF THE POST! Much better from England. They play some nice football as Rooney and Sturridge combine to slip Cole in down the left channel. The Chelsea full-back drills a low cross into the box and Sterling is just a couple of yards out but, under heavy pressure from the defender, hits his shot against the post.

In fact, the replay has just shown that it was very good defending from Ankersen. He did just enough to deny Sterling an easy finish into an open goal and, while he almost scored an own goal in the process, luck was on his side and he got away with it.

GREAT SAVE! Superb goalkeeping from Schmeichel as Cahill causes problems in the box from a corner. He doesn't get much on the ball but it drops into a dangerous area where Sturridge is waiting. The Liverpool man turns it goalwards from close range, but Schmeichel comes out brilliantly, spreading himself to make a vital stop.

The referee brings an end to the first half, and it is far to say that England will not have wanted to hear that whistle. They were just starting to carve out a few chances following a half of few highlights on the whole. The two teams go into the break goalless, and while both have had chances that they should have scored, a draw at this stage is probably the right scoreline.

England's best chances came in the final three minutes before the break, first when Raheem Sterling hit the post and then when Sturridge tested Schmeichel. Sterling's chance came from the first time England had really strung a good number of passes together in the attacking third, with Rooney and Sturridge combining to play in Ashley Cole, who had made one of many forward runs down the left. His low ball into the box looked destined to be turned it by the Liverpool man, but Ankerman did really well to put him off and turn it onto his own post.

Sturridge's chance came from a lucky break inside the box when Cahill's header dropped to the Liverpool striker on the edge of the six yard box. He controlled his effort from close range well enough, but Schmeichel came out and spread himself really well to deny him. You would have expected Sturridge to finish the chance, but it was good goalkeeping rather than a particularly poor finish.

Denmark have had a couple of sights of goal themselves, the best of which came when Poulsen was played in behind the defence. However, he took too long to carve his shot out, allowing Hart to close the gap and the defence to get back and eventually scramble the ball away. However, the concerning thing for Hodgson will be that the defence was cut open far too easily, and they have looked shaky at other points in the half too.

That England defence will undergo at least one change at the break, with Luke Shaw coming on to replace Ashley Cole. Cole certainly did his World Cup chances no harm with his first half performance as he was one of England's brightest players, but it makes sense to give Shaw a chance. It will be the Southampton man's debut, and he replaces a man making his 107th cap. Two very different ends of the spectrum for Hodgson to consider.

Another England player who will have been keen to impress tonight is Sterling and, so far, he has done pretty well. He very nearly gave the hosts the lead and has looked bright throughout, taking on his man regularly and not looking overawed by the occasion. Hodgson may give him another 15 minutes or so to prove himself further, but he has done his chances no harm so far.

DENMARK SUBS: Denmark make a couple of changes at half time as Jesper Juelsgard and Kasper Kusk replace Larson and Jacobsen.

ENGLAND SUB: England also make the change I was mentioning earlier as Luke Shaw comes on for Cole. What a moment for the youngster to make his international debut.

KICKOFF: England get us back underway at Wembley for the second half. Will we see a goal in the coming 45 minutes?

Almost an immediate impact from Juelsgard as he comes down the left and puts in a dangerous low ball that Cahill does really well to cut out and put behind for a corner.

Rooney drops deep to get the ball from Gerrard, who himself is occupying his deeper role this evening. Rooney has rarely been able to have an impact on this game in an advanced position, and credit must go to the Denmark defence for that.

Confident start to his England career from Luke Short. His first touch saw him latch on to a raking Gerrard ball high up the pitch, and he has just shown his defensive qualities as well by dispossessing his man and keeping the ball under pressure.

England haven't exactly come flying out of the traps in this second half. I can;t imagine it would be too long before Hodgson brings up some fresh faces with the intention of sparking his side into life, although subs can also cause the game to break up a little.

England try some intricate build-up play on the edge of the box as Rooney and Wilshere exchange passes, but it is all very congested in there and the United man is crowded out.

Sterling slips the ball down the left for Shaw, and the debutant sends a fine low cross into a very dangerous area in the box. Neither Rooney or Sturridge have gambled, however, and the ball is cleared by Juelsgard.

SAVE! Bendtner receives the ball over on the left side of the area and takes advantage of an untimely Cahill slip to create space to shoot. He fires a low effort towards goal which Hart saves fairly comfortably.

ENGLAND SUB: Wilshere almost went off with an injury earlier in the match, but this time he does actually make way to be replaced by Lallana, who gets a great reception.

SHOT! England have a free kick in a good position after Rooney was brought down by Agger. The United man goes for goal himself but slams his effort into the wall. It falls back out to Gerrard, who takes a touch before seeing his shot take a slight deflection on its way past the post.

ENGLAND SUB: That free kick was Rooney's last action as he makes way for his Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck.

Nice play from Lallana as he collects Shaw's blocked cross before pulling off a Cruyff turn in the area. His subsequent cross is into a dangerous area, but lacks the power to test the keeper, who collects.

DENMARK SUBS: The visitors make a triple change as Zimling, Bjelland and Rasmussen all come on to replace Sloth, Kjaer and Bendtner.

YELLOW CARD! Rasmussen's first action after coming on is to commit a foul and receive a yellow card. Not the best introduction he could have wished for!

CHANCE! Huge chance for Denmark to take the lead! The ball runs for Rasmussen after a few lucky bounces and he finds himself clean through on goal. Having just gone into the book, he almost makes a more positive impact he advanced and trying to slide the ball under Hart, but the City keeper makes himself big and produces a good - and important - save.

That Rooney substitution has allowed Sturridge to be the main striker down the middle, which is a position he will prefer. Welbeck has replaced him on the wing.

CHANCE! Good chance for England as they win the ball back high up the pitch and Welbeck battles away to work space to shoot. He powers a good strike towards goal instead of slipping in Sturridge, but Schmeichel makes an equally good save. Sturridge may have been in a slightly better position than Welbeck there, but you can't blame him for going for goal.

With 20 minutes remaining, England are still searching for their first goal since that win over Poland that booked them their World Cup space. They haven't failed to score in three consecutive matches since 2000, while the last time they drew three blanks in a row at home was back in the early 1980s.

CHANCE! Another big chance for England, and another big save! Sterling exchanges passes with Shaw before cutting inside and squeezing the ball through towards Welbeck. He leaves it for Henderson who pokes it cleverly back through to the United man. However, Schmeichel is quickly out once again and smothers Welbeck's effort really well.

Oxlade-Chamberlain looks like he will be the next man on, although it remains to be seen whether he will be employed in a wide role or a central position. The likes of Barkley, Rodriguez, Townsend and Caulker remain on the bench.

Good play from England as Sterling slides the ball through to Lallana, who has made a clever run in behind the defence, He clips a cross into the middle, but it is sliced behind for a corner.

SAVE! Sturridge gives the ball to Lallana before receiving the return pass and hitting it first time. It is a very powerful effort from the Liverpool man, but it is more or less straight at Schmeichel, who palms it behind for a corner.

ENGLAND SUB: Oxlade-Chamberlain does indeed come on, and it appears that it will be in a central role as Henderson is the man he replaces. Can this sub be the man to spark England into life?

Two Liverpool men team up as Sturridge plays in Sterling down the left before moving to the edge of the box for the return pass. Sterling duly obliges, but Sturridge doesn't catch his shot right and it is cut out before it even reaches Schmeichel.

DENMARK SUB: The Danes make another change as Poulsen is replaced by Danny Olsen, who makes his debut for his country. Big moment for him, although it has been a long time coming - he is now 28.

Finally, England have a breakthrough! Lallana plays a short corner to Sterling, who then gives it back to the Southampton man on the overlap. He produces a nice piece of skill to beat one man and then stands up a fine cross towards the back post, where Sturridge is waiting to nod it into the far corner.

Sturridge has been in fine scoring form for Liverpool this season, but he hasn't found many goalscoring chances this evening. There is now doubt over he quality of his finishing, and he showed there that if England can create chances for him then he can score them.

ENGLAND SUB: Sterling has done well this evening and his World Cup chances have only been enhanced tonight. His match is over, however, as he is replaced by Andros Townsend.

ENGLAND SUB: Hodgson makes another change as the goalscorer Daniel Sturridge makes way to be replaced by James Milner.

Good battling from Oxlade-Chamberlain as he preserves after a ball that is bouncing all over the place. He almost gets lucky, but in the end Schmeichel comes off his line to reach it ahead of the Arsenal man.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

CLOSE! Almost a poor end to the match for England as Olsen whips a dangerous delivery towards the back post from a free kick. Agger is not far from getting a touch, but everybody misses it and it flashes a yard or so past Hart's goal.

The referee brings an end to proceedings at Wembley and it is a first win since their place in the World Cup was confirmed for Roy Hodgson's side. However, the performance was by no means a free-flowing one and the England manager may well have more questions than answers after that match. Still, he will be happy to have ended a two-match losing streak and he got a good look at a couple of the fringe players in with a chance of making the plane to Brazil.

The likes of Sterling and Lallana did their World Cup chances no harm at all with their performances tonight, while both Ashley Cole and Luke Shaw impressed at left-back, leaving Hodgson with a selection dilemma there. There was no time for Barkley, Rodriguez or Caulker to show what they can do, but that is not to say that they can't reaffirm their chances by playing well for their clubs for the rest of the season.

Denmark provided stern opposition and they were very well drilled defensively. For large periods of the match England struggled to get in behind them and threaten Schmeichel's goal. When they did, they found a keeper in very good form and, in truth, Schmeichel didn't really deserve to be on the losing side following that performance. However, overall England did deserve the victory despite it not being their most inspiring display.

Right, that is all we have time for tonight! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was an intriguing match between England and Denmark. The Three Lions eventually ran out 1-0 winners, but it was by no means an easy game for Roy Hodgson's side. I will leave you with our match report and be sure to stick around for reaction and analysis, which will be on site shortly. There is also more live football on offer in the form of Spain vs. Italy. That match is currently 0-0 at half time having kicked off at 9pm. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!