THE four Saints players aiming to book a place in Roy Hodgson's England squad for the World Cup finals will get some early warm-weather training in May.

Hodgson must submit his final 23-man selection for the Brazil finals on June 2 - a squad that could contain Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and teenager Luke Shaw.

And, to ensure he has not left anyone deserving behind, the manager will give seven 'fringe' players the chance to prove they merit a place on the plane.

The Three Lions will train in Portugal's warm weather for five days in mid-May before seven players are cut from contention when England return to Wembley to play Peru in a friendly.

"We will definitely take 30 players when we go to Portugal and we'll keep those players until we play the friendly with Peru," he added.

"But (before Portugal) I'll name the 23 and then name the seven who, at that moment, are not going to be in the final 23.

"In that way I put my cards on the table a bit earlier than I need to.

"We're taking 30 players with us but several will know that, in my thinking, they've got to go there as standby players."

Once the 23-man squad is finalised, England fly to Miami for warm-up friendlies against Ecuador and Peru before facing Italy in their first World Cup group game on June 14.