England’s World Cup Squad

GOALKEEPERS:

1. Paul Robinson:
Robinson took the No.1 jersey from David James less than two years ago but has matured into the role. He commands his area and can be a flamboyant shot-stopper. He conceded only three goals in nine World Cup qualifiers and had a strong season for Spurs. Still only 26, he has the chance to really establish himself as a top-class goalkeeper in Germany.

13. David James:
James lost the regular first-team slot to Paul Robinson after a howler against Austria in 2004. He has not played since an awful display in the 4-1 defeat in Denmark last August. Often brilliant, sometimes careless, but he has years of experience and will be the No.2. Had a solid Premiership season with Manchester City but is still likely to make costly mistakes.

22. Scott Carson:
Carson was a very late call-up to the squad after third-choice keeper Robert Green suffered an injury in England B’s match against Belarus. The 20-year-old earned a move to Liverpool from Leeds last January on the back of rave reviews but has been used purely in reserves by the Reds. Carson has been capped 18 times at U21 level but his time in Germany is likely to be for experience alone.


DEFENDERS:

2. Gary Neville:
Neville is England’s Mr Reliable and was sorely missed when injury ruled him out of the last World Cup finals. He links up fluently with captain David Beckham on the England right and has a wealth of experience at the top level, which includes four previous major international tournaments.

12. Sol Campbell:
Campbell missed nearly three months of the season after walking out of an Arsenal game at half-time. He was said to be under mental strain and injuries delayed the return. But his experience in big games for England has booked him a place at his third World Cup finals. Has looked a little shaky since his return and is likely to be on the bench this time.

5. John Terry:
Terry has established himself as England’s premier defender after leading Chelsea to back-to-back Premiership titles. He is powerful in the air, strong in the tackle and decisive. He is also a natural leader and tipped as a future England skipper. He scores key goals at club level and would be a good bet to break his international duck in Germany.



6. Rio Ferdinand:
Ferdinand made his name at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea with an outstanding tournament. That triggered his £29m move to Manchester United, with made him the world’s costliest defender. He is elegant and fleet-footed but sometimes prone to lapses in concentration.

15. Jamie Carragher:
Carragher has come of age since making the permanent switch to the centre of Liverpool’s defence. His courage and commitment inspired his club to the Champions League last season and earned him more regular games at the heart of the England team. He can also play at right-back.

3. Ashley Cole:
The Arsenal defender barely played last season since breaking his foot in October and then suffering a thigh injury on his return. He will be hoping he has played just enough games to reassure Sven Goran Eriksson and will have the bonus of being fresh for the finals.

14. Wayne Bridge:
Bridge has been haunted by injury problems for the last two years but has returned to action this season with a loan spell at Fulham. He played in only two World Cup qualifiers but the 24-year-old pacy left-back has proven himself an able deputy to Ashley Cole.

MIDFIELDERS:

7. David Beckham:
Beckham goes into his third World Cup finals as possibly the most famous footballer on the planet. He has captained England for almost six years and is creeping towards the magical 100 caps. He has been in great form on the right of Real Madrid’s midfield and remains a deadly free-kick specialist, but his team is the first on the teamsheet.

8. Frank Lampard:
Lampard has been one of the driving forces behind Chelsea’s rise to the top of English football. His midfield energy, vision and eye for a goal have won crucial games for club and country. He missed the squad for Japan and South Korea four years ago but will be key man this time.

4. Steven Gerrard:
Gerrard admits he has rarely produced his dazzling club form on the international stage. Liverpool’s inspirational captain is a supreme athlete with all the attributes of the modern midfielder. Has enjoyed another great campaign for the Reds, becoming their leading scorer as well as main man. There have been suggestions he could be deployed in a more attacking role.

17. Jermaine Jenas:
Jenas has shone since joining Spurs from Newcastle for £7m last August and is a favourite of Sven Goran Eriksson. The 23-year-old made his England debut as a teenager but has yet to start a competitive game for his country. He is composed, versatile and has great stamina.


18. Michael Carrick:
Carrick made a late run back into the squad thanks to an excellent Premiership season at Tottenham. He made his England debut in 2001 but slipped out of favour until making an impact on last year’s tour to the USA. He reads the game, passes the ball will and can play the anchor role in midfield.

16. Owen Hargreaves:
Hargreaves has been a regular in Sven Goran Eriksson’s squads and has earned rave reviews for his club performances this season. A regular with Bayern Munich, his experience of the conditions and atmosphere in Germany may have been a factor in his inclusion. Can play anywhere in midfield. Started the opening two games in 2002 before injury ended involvement.

11. Joe Cole:
Cole enjoyed an outstanding season for club an country, finally making the position on the left of England’s midfield his own. He has grown in strength and stature in the last two years and played more minutes for country than any other outfield player in 2005.

20. Stewart Downing:
Missed five months of last season through injury but returned to form and fitness and was a key player in Middlesboro’s UEFA Cup run. One of the few left-footed players in the squad, his wing play will offer Sven a different option and his crossing can be exceptional. His one and only cap before the squad was picked came against Holland last year.

19. Aaron Lennon:
The 19-year-old played his way into the squad with some blistering performances for Tottenham. A diminutive winger who can frighten defences with his pace and dribbling, Lennon is one of England’s in-form players going into the tournament. He became the youngest player in Premiership history after coming off the bench for Leeds against Tottenham in August 2003.

STRIKERS:

10. Michael Owen:
Owen is undoubtedly England’s goal machine but he has not played regular football for almost two years. He was mostly a substitute at Real Madrid and, after a £16m switch to Newcastle, missed much of the last campaign with a broken foot. He expects to be fully fit and razor sharp for his third World Cup.

9. Wayne Rooney:
Rooney is being tipped as the man to lead his country to World Cup glory in Germany. But a broken metatarsal has put his participation in the tournament in doubt, although Sven will give him every chance to recover. Rooney’s has pace, power and can create and score goals. At 20 years of age he is already irreplaceable.

21. Peter Crouch:
Crouch scored his first England goal against Uruguay in March to silence some of the doubters. The lanky has his share of critics because of his ungainly style but he has a good touch and links up the play well.

23. Theo Walcott:
Walcott became England’s youngest international on Wednesday night, the 17-year-old is surprising inclusion in the squad. Yet to make his first team debut for Arsenal but showed enough at Southampton to indicate he could trouble the world’s best defences, reminiscent of Thierry Henry.

That's a great breakdown of the squad walsh. A couple of observations/opinions:

Scott Carson - I've had the oppertunity to see him up close for Liverpool a couple of times and I've got to be honest, he doesn't inspire me with confidence. Paul Robinson is going to be one of England's most important players going into this World Cup. If he gets injured then I don't think England have adequate replacements. As you said, David James is prone to the odd mistake and when he's in an England shirt, the defence infront of him doesn't seem to have much confidence in him. Carson his prone to making mistakes himself, and while he's a good shot-stopper and good in one-on-one situations, he has no real command of his area and does have lapses in concentration.

Wayne Bridge - Ashley Cole was taken off today with a problem in his thigh. He's going for a scan tomorrow and I'd imagine Eriksson is praying the damage is not serious as I don't feel Bridge is up to the task of replacing him. Bridge himself doesn't look to be as fit as he should. For me, Cole is one of the best left-backs in the world, infact I don't think there's anyone better than him, so it's a difficult task for anyone to replace him but especially Bridge. Defensively he's not as good as Cole and offensively he's not as good as Cole. If Cole's injury is serious then England's opposition will target that area as their weak spot with Bridge and Joe Cole on that side.

Owen Hargreaves - When the squad was announced I thought he was going in there as a defensive midfielder and a right back. However, Carragher played today at right-back and seems to be second choice there to Neville. Carrick seems to be the first choice defensive midfielder if England decide to play using a defensive midfielder with Lampard and Gerrard pushing forward. Carragher seems to be back-up in that position too. If that's right, what is the point of Owen Hargreaves in the squad? He should have been sacraficed for another striker.

Theo Walcott - This is a massive gamble given the state of the fitness of England's strikers. I have a bit of a problem with Sven taking him as a 1 of 4 strikers. Of the other 3 strikers he selected one of them won't play for another 3 weeks at the earliest, one of them isn't a natural goalscorer and the other, England's main goal threat, is suffering from lack of sharpness, lack of games and appears to have niggling injuries. This is potentially England's downfall.

Walcott being brought as a striker is there to score goals. Maybe it's just me and I'm being incredibly stupid for saying this, but taking Walcott, given England's striking situation, suggests to me that Sven expects him to score goals given the chance. Otherwise he would have taken him along as part of a 5 man strikeforce with another natural finisher (well, as natural as you can get with the options he had).

In a crucial goalscoring situation e.g. the game is tied 0-0, 90th minute and an England striker has an oppertunity to score with a one-on-one with the keeper - who would you most want it to fall for? Owen, Rooney, Crouch and Walcott in that order would be my choice. Lets throw Bent, Defoe and Johnson into the mix. In what order would you place them?

It's obvious Walcott's main threat is his pace right now. That's fantastic in the right situation but England need goals from their strikers - I'm not convinced Walcott is the man to do that in an occasion like the World Cup, without having played a competitive match for Arsenal.

Peter Crouch - Thought he was fantastic today, aside from his hat-trick. What England really miss when Rooney isn't playing, apart from a creative spark, is someone who has the ability to link the midfield and the attack, I think Crouch does that well for England in a different way. Today he held the ball up well and waited for support to arrive and he showed his ability as a targetman when he headed the ball on or chested it down for someone to have a shot. I think Owen is much better when he plays with a big guy, someone who'll take the knocks and lay the ball on for him. He's always been like that - with Heskey at Liverpool and Shearer with England in the past.

England apart from Paul Robinson and David James, have no decent spare keepers, now that green's injured, not that he was any good. Ben Fotser ?? who??
Scott Carson, was on loan at sheff. wed all season. Liverpool Number 3!!!!!!!