Who will be in the next England team?
England’s footballers touched down on home soil this morning at least two weeks before they had planned to.
Germany’s 4-1 victory in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon silenced the roar of the Three Lions in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which had never really got above a whimper throughout the tournament.
England’s underperformance has raised questions over both the future of manager Fabio Capello and that of his players, many of whom will be in their mid-thirties by the time of the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014. So who follows them? England start their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a match against Bulgaria on September 3rd, before they face Switzerland, Montenegro and Wales in the remainder of the group.
Before that comes a home friendly with Hungary just three days before the start of the 2010/11 Premier League season, when Capello – if he’s still in the job – may look to give some fresh faces a run out, so who does he choose? He could do a lot worse that this team.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart (Manchester City)
This depends on whether or not Hart has moved clubs by the start of the season – or indeed surpassed Shay Given as Manchester City’s No. 1 – but England’s third-choice at the World Cup may well be their first choice for the new campaign. The 23-year-old was voted the top stopper in the Premier League last season while on loan at Birmingham City, and could now forge a long international career, as David James will be a 40-year-old 10 days before the Hungary game, while Rob Green may never recover from his error against the USA.
Right-back: Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
Not exactly one of England’s standout players in South Africa – although few were – Johnson had a nightmare against Germany’s flying left-sided forward Lukas Podolski on Sunday afternoon. Question marks remain over his defensive capabilities – huge, possibly unanswerable question marks – but perhaps the impending appointment of Roy Hodgson as his new manager at club level will instil some more steeliness into him, and he remains an excellent attacking option for England when they are on the front foot. Looking at the opposition in their Euro 2012 qualifiers, they surely will be more often than not in those games.
Centre-back: Gary Cahill (Bolton)
Still attracting the admiring glances of some of the Premier League’s big boys, 24-year-old Cahill was unlucky to miss out on the final World Cup squad after picking up an alarming blood clot in his arm towards the end of last season. Thankfully now well again, the former Aston Villa central defender has all the tools available to succeed at international level. Surely both Ledley King and Rio Ferdinand will now be considered too injury-prone for England to rely on, while Jamie Carragher has gone back into international retirement following the World Cup exit and Matthew Upson didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during the tournament. Enter Cahill. He might be the best of a not very promising bunch but he deserves a chance.
Centre-back: John Terry (Chelsea)
Put simply, he can stay in so long as he shuts up and gets on with his game. Often a disruptive influence and presence on the squad, Terry is still an excellent defender and organiser of a back four, and as captain of English champions Chelsea he’d bring some welcome experience to the defence. However, his personality remains an issue, and any more outspoken acts such as the one we saw at the World Cup simply won’t be tolerated. Not all footballers have to be angels, but Terry has to ensure that his often overpowering presence doesn’t overshadow the team, again.
Left-back: Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Still one of the best left-backs around – nothing that happened in South Africa changed that – Cole, at 29, could easily still be on the left side of England’s defence at the next World Cup, not least because there’s no-one around at the moment to seriously challenge him. Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock are both good, honest left-backs, but aren’t in Cole’s league. Still one of the first names on the team-sheet.
Right midfield: Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Only Capello knows why he didn’t take the Arsenal man to South Africa, and while his final ball and his output can often be questioned, he does at least provide an outlet for England on the right-hand side, and his pace can trouble any defence. Carrying more of a goal threat than Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon, Walcott could prove to be an important player for club and country in the coming campaign.
Centre midfield: Jack Rodwell (Everton)
How about one in from left-field? The 19-year-old Rodwell is very highly rated on Merseyside, and has been linked with moves to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in the past. A strong, tough-tackling central midfielder, the youngster demonstrates many of the qualities seen in the teenage Steven Gerrard, and the chance to learn from his fellow Merseysider at such close quarters would surely benefit his game. The coming season promises to be a big one for Rodwell, and if he continues to develop at such an alarming speed, then it might not be long before he’s pulling on the Three Lions.
Centre midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Capello’s decision to continually station his captain on the left side of midfield was one of the more puzzling of the World Cup, and it will be interesting to see where Hodgson chooses to play him for Liverpool, should the Reds skipper stay at Anfield of course. Perhaps it is time to move him back into the centre as, now 30, he can’t go on rampaging around the pitch forever, and maybe it’s also time to split up the dreaded “Gerrard-Frank Lampard” axis, which seems to be more of a psychological hindrance than anything else. For the starting XI berth, Gerrard edges it because of his two fewer years and his leadership qualities, but Lampard should also be in the squad too.
Left midfield: Adam Johnson (Manchester City)
Called into the 30-man provisional squad just before the World Cup, Johnson was always likely to be one of those cut from the final party due to his lack of experience. Had he just played the whole season under Roberto Mancini at Manchester City – as opposed to just joining them in January – then there’s every chance that he would have made it to South Africa, but time is certainly on the 22-year-old’s side. Quick, skilful and possessing on excellent left foot, Johnson could offer the genuine width from the left flank that England were missing at the World Cup.
Centre forward: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
One bad tournament changes nothing, Rooney is still an excellent player. The World Cup may have proved that he’s not quite at the level of the likes of Lionel Messi and his old teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, but when has that ever been a criticism of anyone? Still the man England will look to for goals, and still the man who is capable of producing them. Still only 24 too, scarily.
Centre forward: Darren Bent (Sunderland)
What more does a man have to do to get in a World Cup squad than score 25 goals in a season for an average Sunderland side? Well, maybe score them for a bigger club on a bigger stage – such is the way that certain managers think – but Bent deserves a chance to shine for England. Emile Heskey’s cameo appearance in Bloemfontein might well be the last time he’s seen in an England shirt, while Capello’s reluctance to use Peter Crouch at the World Cup hints that the Italian doesn’t trust him. Jermain Defoe has done nothing wrong, but Bent would freshen things up, and how the current stale England setup needs someone to do that.
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