Final call for South Africa

Written by James Beckett Monday, 31 May 2010 20:10

England World Cup Blog

The waiting is almost over, all season we have been discussing who should be, and who shouldn't be going to South Africa, but tomorrow Fabio Capello will announce the 23 players that will make up the England squad, at this summers World Cup. However, with seven players set to miss out, trying to guess what the Italian is thinking, is an almost impossible task, but I'll give it a go.

There do seem to be some players that look like certainties to miss out. Stephen Warnock and Michael Dawson were some of the surprise names in the provisional 30 man squad, but neither featured in the friendlies against Mexico and Japan, and it seems all but guaranteed that they won't make the final cut.

Two players that did get a go against Japan were Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent, however neither were particularly impressing. Huddlestone did nothing wrong during his first half outing, and he was probably one of the better players from the woeful first 45 minutes. But with Gareth Barry set to overcome his ankle injury, a call-up for Huddlestone looks very unlikely. Bent on the other hand missed an excellent chance, and you feel that he really needed a goal or two to be included.

So there is four of the seven men to miss out, but from then on, it really is a guessing game. But I feel the fact that Scott Parker wasn't picked for either game could indicate that he hasn't impressed Capello enough to make the final 23. However the performance of Michael Carrick against Mexico may give Parker a chance, but personally I can't see the West Ham man been included.

And then we are down to the wingers, the one area of the squad where it really is impossible to gauge what Capello is thinking. Joe Cole and Shaun Wright Phillips came on at half time against Japan, and were both impressive, but while I see Cole pipping Adam Johnson to a place in the squad. I can't see Capello leaving out Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott, so unfortunately it could be a very disappointing day for the likeable winger.

I have no doubts that Johnson will go on to have a very good England career, but you just feel South Africa may have come to soon for him. Cole made a real impact yesterday, and the fact that he has previous experience counts heavily in his favour. So I feel that Capello will regrettably leave out Johnson.

So to sum up. My prediction for Capello's squad tomorrow is as followed:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham),

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

| More...

Comments (0)