Fabio Capello announced his England squad for the upcoming internationals against Spain on Saturday at the Wembley Stadium in London followed by a match against Sweden at the same venue three days later.
There was no surprise as he left out his star striker Wayne Rooney from the squad as the temperamental Manchester United striker will be missing the group stage of Euro 2012 with a three match ban as things stand at this moment.
However, Capello chose to ignore Rio Ferdinand from the squad along with in-form Manchester City full-back Micah Richards, who reacted angrily to his omission on social networking site twitter.
On the other hand, Fabio Capello’s move to include his skipper John Terry in the squad with the latter undergoing a police investigation on charges of racism has drawn some flak. Terry has not been the same since that defeat in Moscow to Manchester United. He has been making some school-boy errors in the middle of the park off late and there are at least 5 defenders who can challenge him for a place in the England line-up. They are Phil Jagielka, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill, and Ledley King.
But then again, Terry’s experience will be a huge bonus for the manager against European and World Champions Spain on Saturday evening. Although he is a solid defender for England with plenty of experience, he has some added responsibilities as captain of England which he has not exactly performed.
Be it a peer quitting the international setup thanks to some of Terry’s actions or getting embroiled in a racism incident – Terry finds himself on a sticky wicket at the moment and one ponders how long will Fabio Capello retain his services as captain with pressure from the English FA rising.
The rest of the squad is pretty similar with Everton’s Jack Rodwell finally making the international squad along with Tottenham’s Kyle Walker and Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge. Frank Lampard looks set for the captain’s armband in the match against Spain while Terry may retain the same for the next match against Sweden 3 days later.
The starting lineup against Spain should comprise of Joe Hart at goal, who has cemented his place in the England XI. Glen Johnson should start at left back after an injury ridden spell on the sidelines while Leighton Baines should get the nod over Ashley Cole, who has had a poor season so far personally.
Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka should start at central defence with Lampard pulling the strings in the center of the park. Scott Parker and James Milner should be the the defensive midfielders with Stewart Downing and Theo Walcott operating on the wings. Danny Welbeck looks set to play in the role of the lone striker.