England is one of the few nations that does not have a winter break and it is affecting the international team according to manager Roy Hodgson. There have been several calls for a winter break to be introduced for quite a while now, but in the Premier league has been resistant to the calls so far.

Teams in England have to compete on four fronts due to the presence of a competition called the League Cup. This, in turn, puts a lot of strain on the players at the end of the season according to Hodgson. International tournaments are usually held in the summer from June to July.

The last major tournament won the England was back in 1966 when they lifted the FIFA World Cup. One of the reasons for their consistent failures at major tournaments is the sheer number of matches throughout the season according to Hodgson. He has said that the players will certainly benefit from a break of around two weeks during the winter period. Nations like Germany, Spain, and France have a winter break. It has benefited them greatly, as the results from international tournaments have shown in recent decades according to Hodgson.

The team once again failed to make an impression at the recent Euro 2012.

"For all us football coaches in England who would dearly love to see our season spread out slightly differently, if you can come up with what we've been saying then we would be very grateful. I find a shorter break now and again is much better than those long breaks. I don't think the best way to keep players fit is to push them through 60 games in eight-and-a-half months and then have three-and-a-half months with no football," said Hodgson to the Evening Standard. Top English clubs consistently play in excess of 60 matches a season.