Andy Carroll to start for England against France
Newcastle Untied striker Andy Carroll will make his senior England debut after being named in the starting line up to play France in an international friendly on Wednesday 17 November.
The 21-year-old received his first call-up to the squad after impressing national team coach Fabio Capello with his performances this season. The forward has scored seven goals in 13 English Premier League games this season, including the only goal in a match
against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium as well as a hat-trick against Aston Villa.
However, Carroll has also been at the centre of controversy after admitting an assault charge and being forced to live with his club captain Kevin Nolan as part of bail conditions on a separate charge.
Despite those allegations, Capello insisted that he was not too concerned about the striker's troubled private life.
He told reporters that: "You have to help him because he made a mistake, but he is really young. Everyone makes mistakes during their life. He's a good player and I think he will understand, to stay with the senior (squad) will be really important for him because
all the people, the newspapers, journalists will be focused on his life. He'll improve."
Sunderland's Jordan Henderson will also make his senior debut in the match, while Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs is making his first international start.
Capello added that: “The three players (Carroll, Henderson and Gibbs), we have to support them if the performances are not okay. It's really important. Also, the senior players like Rio Ferdinand, Gareth Barry and Steven Gerrard have to help these players."
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who had been set to make his first start for England, has been sent home after missing out on Tuesday's training session due to injury. First-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart, meanwhile, may also miss the game after sustaining an
injury in training.
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