Hodgson's joy at Stevie landmark
Roy Hodgson admits he'll feel an enormous sense of pride at handing Steven Gerrard his 100th England cap next week.
The Liverpool captain is expected to reach the milestone in the friendly against Sweden in Stockholm on Wednesday night, becoming only the sixth player in history to do so in the process.
"Anybody who gets 100 caps for his country has got to be one hell of a player," said Hodgson.
"I'm delighted I am going to be the manager of the team when he gets that 100th cap because I regard that as an honour. It's nice if you happen to be the man on the bench that day."
Upon being appointed England boss, Hodgson quickly made Gerrard his captain. It's a decision he believes has been totally vindicated.
"His ability gives him enormous respect in the group, which is important," he added.
"What gives him a real heads-up over a lot of people is his maturity, his total dedication to football and the fact that he's prepared to give his time to other players, to champion their cause and do everything you expect a captain to do.
"You don't need to be demonstrative.
"In the past there are certain captains who stand out through being demonstrative but there have been lots of very good captains through the years who are not demonstrative people.
"I'm not interested in Steven being demonstrative, I want him to do the job; on the field by leading the team and making certain that when we play we're trying to do the things we work on, and off the field to be there for the players and be that link with the rest of the group."
Meanwhile, Hodgson insists his decision to call up Raheem Sterling was a 'no brainer'.
The 17-year-old could make his senior debut for the Three Lions in Sweden - and the national team boss is not surprised by his progress.
"He played in a friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach in 2010, when I'd only been at Liverpool for about three weeks," said Hodgson.
"It was for the last 15 minutes in front of 55,000 people, and he almost won it for us.
"So, I had an idea then that he might turn out to be a bit of a player and his inclusion in a squad like this, with so many players absent, was a bit of a no-brainer."