Soccer Equipment Reviews

*Written before Fabio Capello announced the England squad for the World Cup on Tuesday, 1 June 2010

Part Two of SER’s FIFA 2010 World Cup coverage

Special Focus: England’s final 23-man squad for South Africa

Fabio Capello has named his provisional 30-man England squad. Missing from that squad were Manchester United quartet: Gary Neville (England’s most-capped right back who has not played for the Three Lions since 2007), Owen Hargreaves (England’s best player in Germany four years ago, but has been limited to 20 seconds of football this season because of his knee injuries), Wes Brown (struggled to recover in time from his broken foot in March), and Michael Owen (the soft Wembley pitch has been credited with his injured hamstring, ending his faint hope of being included by Fabio Capello for the first time since 2008). Nor was there space for the poor Joleon Lescott, whose transfer from Merseyside to Eastlands has seen him disappear from Capello’s plans. Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce claims that Capello must have a personal vendetta against Paul Robinson, who was overlooked yet again by the Italian despite a solid season. He did however opt for Matthew Upson over Phil Jagielka, a decision that seems to have made his decision about which seven to cut relatively easier as Upson’s form has been poor this season. He should not make the plane. He should not even have been called up at all if you asked me, but I’m not the man at the helm. Also in the squad is Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips, in for David Bentley (look at “In Austria…”), and Villa’s Stephen Warnock.

Don Capello claimed this morning that no one has really made him change his mind and that 22 of the 23 players that he will announce on Tuesday were already on the plane before he named his provisional training squad for Austria. It’s hard to guess who is in the final squad, particularly since Capello makes it hard for people like myself trying to figure out who is going to South Africa. He claims to pick players based on form yet has not given either Michael Dawson or Scott Parker (their clubs’ best players this season) any game time in England’s warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan. They could either be guaranteed a spot already or never even featured in Capello’s plans. The same goes for his claim not to pick players unfit for England’s World Cup opener against USA. Gareth Barry’s ankle injury has almost certainly ruled him out of the match but the latest scans have shown that he may be ready to train the day after. Perhaps Barry really is that crucial to Capello’s plans (considering the uninspiring performances by Tom Huddlestone and Michael Carrick’s disappointing season and showing against Mexico). So, where do we begin with our culling of the Lions?

We need seven names, and these are my pick that stay home.

MICHAEL CARRICK – given Hargreaves’ omission and Barry’s injury, the Mexico game was Carrick’s opportunity to cement his place in the starting-11. Unfortunately, he continued with his surprisingly poor form in the season and failed to make an impact in the game. It will be a big loss for England because an inform Carrick has the potential to be one of the best midfielders at the World Cup. Maybe next time.

TOM HUDDLESTONE – he was impressive at times for Spurs this season, but his England appearances have been nothing eye-catching. Mediocre, ok, average are the words banging around the back pages and the WWW. Looks lazy on the field when put next to the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, and Rooney. Needs time to grow and maybe more time with the England squad after the World Cup will help him mature. Should have a good season with Spurs next year.

SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS – it’s between him and Joe Cole for the last spot and Cole is better. Never really shone this season or with the England camp for that matter. England have more than enough wingers and I don’t think Capello rates him too much. Some appearances off the bench, but he doesn’t have the crossing ability of Beckham (or Adam Johnson for that matter), the speed of Walcott or Lennon, or the versatility or creativity of Joe Cole. I don’t expect him to be on the plane.

DARREN BENT – I hate to put his name down because he was sensational for Sunderland last season and deserves purely on form to go. Capello seems to favour playing him alongside Rooney and that doesn’t help him. Bent hasn’t quite fitted into his place with the Three Lions and his average performance against Japan probably erased even his faintest of chances. It is looking more and more obvious that Capello will bring only four strikers, and Bent isn’t one of them.

THEO WALCOTT – I’m not sure why Eriksson brought him to Germany in 2006, but I don’t think he should be on the plane again. He doesn’t seem to have the head for international football, despite his hat-trick against Croatia. In fact, if he does go it will be because Capello is fan following that performance. His recent appearances for the Three Lions have been far from dazzling and his stop-and-start season due to injury has hampered his form. With Johnson/Cole/Gerrard able to play on the left with Lennon/Johnson/Milner down the right, I don’t think there is a need for Walcott. Speed alone is not going to guarantee him a seat.

STEPHEN WARNOCK – I think that Baines is the better between them, despite the Everton star’s nervy and rocky performance against Mexico. Warnock was given his chance to prove his worth and hasn’t taken it in the recent squads. That Baines played all 90 minutes against both Egypt and Mexico is an indication that Capello trusts him enough to deputise for Ashley Cole. Warnock didn’t have his best season and won’t add to his caps in South Africa.

MATTHEW UPSON – I’m not a big fan of the West Ham defender, especially in England colours. He’s not fast enough for the international game (some make the argument that neither is John Terry, but Terry is the better defender) and when put up against the likes of Dawson, King, Carragher, Terry, and Ferdinand doesn’t stand a chance of featuring in South Africa. He had far from an impressive season with West Ham and his England performances this season haven’t been any better. With the available options that Capello has at centre half, Upson is simply not good or consistent enough.

That’s the seven that miss out. As for the rest, this is what England will travel with:

I’d like to see Adam Johnson go to South Africa. He has been in stellar form this season for Boro and City and he is relatively untried on the international stage. He might be Capello’s secret weapon. Able to cross (and with both feet!), he could be one of England’s key players this summer. Joe Cole has had an up-and-down season because of his injury. The lengthy layoff and longer return to form was not helped by Ancelotti’s reluctance to play him for Chelsea. His presence on the field against Japan helped rejuvenate a lacklustre England and he seemed to slip very comfortably into that position just behind Rooney. Scott Parker was West Ham’s powerhouse last season and could be England’s this summer. With Gareth Barry slowly but surely working his way back to full fitness, it will be a couple of games at least before he is back to his best. Parker could be the rock in front of England’s back four that they will miss because of Hargreaves’ absence. Defensively, England looks surer and more solid than last time round. Not sure if Dawson or King will get some game time, but they have been unbelievable for Tottenham this season and it would be good to see the pair get a game. Could stand in for first choice duo Terry and Ferdinand. Carragher seems likely to spend a lot of time at right back this summer – defensively he is stronger and smarter than Johnson and he certainly brings a wealth of experience. A back four of Carragher, Terry, Ferdinand, and Cole will give whoever is between the pegs for England plenty of protection, along with the protection of either Parker or Barry. I’d like to see Milner played out wide for England instead of the more central position that he tried in the first half against Mexico and the position that he has found himself in for parts of last season with Villa. Him and Johnson on the left could do some very serious damage. Up front still seems to be the Heskey-Rooney partnership that was so effective during qualifying. Capello will also have the option of bringing on Defoe or Crouch to play up front (perhaps we could see the Spurs duo play together) with Cole playing in behind the striker. Rooney is almost guaranteed to lead the line every time he is available, and quite rightly so. England depend on his goalscoring prowess. Following the disappointment in Germany against Portugal, he will want revenge and this time around in the form of goals… a lot of goals. This is the time to shine for England’s star players, in particular Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Both are reaching their peaks and this will probably be their last World Cup. Capello seems to know the trick to playing them both on the pitch in the same 11 at the same time and this duo, if up for it and on their game, can power England into the final. In goal? Simple. Joe Hart. Man on form, brimming with confidence, and commanding the respect and protection from his back four. He is England’s number one for years to come, so why not start in South Africa?

Final squad: Hart (GK), Green (GK), James (GK), Carragher, G Johnson, Terry, Ferdinand, Dawson, King, A Cole, Baines, Milner, Lennon, A Johnson, J Cole, Parker, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Heskey, Crouch, Defoe

UPDATE: Capello’s final squad for South Africa – Hart (GK), James (GK), Green (GK), G Johnson, Carragher, Terry, Ferdinand, King, Warnock, A Cole, Upson, Milner, Lennon, Barry, Gerrard, Lampard, J Cole, Wright-Phillips, Carrick, Rooney, Heskey, Crouch, Defoe.