Young wingers Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott were two of the more surprising omissions from England's final 23-man World Cup roster, revealed on Tuesday afternoon.
Veterans Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips did make the cut as England manager Fabio Capello chose to go with experience over youth in his final selections.
Here is England's squad:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green. Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Forwards: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.
What do you think of the squad? Surprised to see Walcott left out and/or Johnson left out? Think the United States can beat this England team?
Share your thoughts below.
I love Donovan and Dempsey, but I have to agree with this.
TELL. EM.
just cause I have LD lining up centrally in this diagram doesn’t mean I expect him to stay there. Demps didn’t look very comfortable lining up under Jozy against Turkey, and he’s the more fickle player of the two. I’m confident those two would switch all day, but slotting him center allows him to run with Rooney more directly if he needs to track back, something I’m not sure Deuce would do (I don’t say that as a criticism BTW).
The only one who should have a clear directive is Beasely–man mark Rooney and run on counter.
my only though in starting Edu first is his size, but I actually agree with you that Torres is better in dictating pace and distribution. My ony concern with him is since he’s “young” he may not go out and take it to Gerrard and Lampard the same way an Edu might . Perhas I give Edu too much -and Torres not enough- credit.
If LD breaks Cole’s leg again, I could forsee a killing.
To follow up on my comment, I would like to talk about Rio Ferdinand.
Yes, he is a captain. He is also a widely criticized pick for the squad. He has been missing out on a lot of practice for United, matches, but he also makes a lot of mistakes.
Gooch is younger, generally more athletic, and becoming a bigger name. Don’t get me wrong, Rio is a good player, but his glory days are LONG over.
What’s with the self-hatred?
A number of American players would start on England.
Donovan, Dempsey, Gooch, Howard/H-men, and CD would start next to Rooney any day of the week.
American fans need a different perspective. I’ve lived in several European countries, and Americans are generally the most likely to criticize the American team. It is a weird inferiority complex.
England play a 4-2-3-1 as follows:
Cole – RIO – Terry – G. Johnson
Barry – Lampard
Gerrard – Rooney – A. Lennon
Emile HeskeY (or maybe CroucH)
Here, there really is no true defensive midfielder (Barry plays the role, but is hardly Claude Makalele, and Lampard has more defensive responsibility than he does for Chelsea) – also, Rooney (and perhaps Gerrard, from the left) are given freedom to roam, with Rooney dropping deep and coming forward off of the target man Heskey (or possibly Crouch) – I think England’s defense is vulnerable (Terry and Rio are both coming off of injuries/declining in form) – and G. Johnson is a suspect defender…
as far as midfield cover goes, they really don’t have a holding midfielder (Carrick sucks, and can’t really tackle). Also, if I were Capello, I would have Cole start on the left ahead of Gerrard, or perhaps even Shawn Wright-phillips – England plays better without Gerrard and Lampard on the field at the same time…
If Jonathan Bornstein were born in London, what would his job be?
England are obviously a very good side, but where are their holding midfielders? King has done this, in a pinch, but who else? If they push Stevie G out wide right so that he and Lampard aren’t getting in each other’s way in the center, who plays beside Lamps in the middle? Barry?
I think Bocanegra would have a shot over Warnock, but it would be a slim chance. Donovan and Dempsey have both been more effective EPL and international players than SWP, and to some extent Aaron Lennon, who you have to figure will be starting. And for whoever ripped Carragher, if he were American, he’d be the best defender we ever had, and the captain of the team going into this World Cup.
Dempsey’s stats & impact and Donovan’s (projected) stats & impact are very comparable to Wright-Phillips.
Finally someone without an inferiority complex.
LOL
you must not follow soccer. How’d you find this site?
England’s problem is similar to the problem Brazil had for over a decade: their team is less than the sum of their parts. Individually, they have very good players, but they are also, for the most part, used to playing alongside skill players from other countries and often have difficulty getting their team balance right.
Liverpool suffered this year because they lost Alonso, who was their creative presence; Gerrard was not as effective without him. Lampard is used to marauding forward with an African defensive midfielder behind him to cover his back line. Both Terry and Ferdinand are used to playing beside foreign center halfs with more finesse than they possess. England has great players but doesn’t produce great players in every role needed to fill a team. When Barry and Carrick are your best DM options, that is not a strength and while Lamps and Gerrard are skilled, creative players, they don’t control the rhythm of the game like a true #10 (Alonso, Xavi, Deco, etc.).
The advantage of the USA is two-fold.
1. Our players are typically not the superstars and have to fight for every second of playing time. Our players tend, therefore to be more flexible, able to function well in multiple positions because we’ve had to do so to get playing time.
2. We have a diverse population to draw from. Unlike England, whose team is primarily Northern Europeans, and are representative of that style of play, we are a melting pot, combining Northern Europeans, Southern Europeans, Hispanics, and Africans in our team, combining the best aspects of the playing styles representative of that part of the world. They are all Americans but bring aspects of their parent (or adopted) culture into their play.
I would imagine it is difficult to prepare to play the USA, for no team plays like we do, combines so many styles together in such a cohesive unit, like we do. England faced Mexico, our close rival, to prepare to face us, but who would say we play anything like them? Or like anyone else?
We’re the mutts of the soccer world and win because we combine our diversity effectively and do so with cohesion and heart.
Guys who think Donovan or Dempsey would make this squad either don’t follow the EPL at all or are on crack.
Their wide midfield players are:
Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Milner plays in the middle now, but I’m guessing for England he plays out wide. Same with Gerrard.
I’m sorry but those guys are all a head above Donovan and Dempsey. Dempsey and Donovan are both solid EPL level players: but those guys are the best in the league.
Agree 100% Edu may be a great sub to slow the game down if we have a second half lead or if one of the midfielders is looking tired. I can’t see how Redcardo or Mo Edu starts over Torres. The guy has great skills and has played better each time he’s capped. MB and Torres should start every game from here out, barring injuries.
I might be nuts, but I want to see what others think. Goodson is in good form, and Beas is pretty adept at covering for defense. Thus,against England:
——Dempsey——-Altidore——
Beasley——————–Donovan
——-Bradley———Torres——-
Boca—Gooch—-Goodson—-Dolo
————-Howard—————
Obviously, I suggest this lineup to cover our flanks while being able to create some offense. Torres gets the nod because he is the better passer (between he and Edu), and he’s been resolved since the beginning of camp to step up his defensive game. He showed us that he did against Turkey.
Dempsey’s problem may not be the fact that he’s starting up front, but really where he starts when he first gets the ball. In this line up, he’s up top on paper, but really he drops back closer to the mids and shades toward (but is not completely in) the center. This may free him up to making runs and receiving on the half turn rather than with his back toward goal. This makes the formation closer to a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-1-1. The only problem i might see with this is having Jozy stay home up top. Someone did mention that he has a tendency to drop down to help the mids. If he stays forward, i don’t think we’ll have too much of a problem going forward.
Possible subs:
60-70: Buddle/Findley for Beas, drop Dempsey back to mid.
65-75: Holden in for Dempsey, Donovan to LM
Post 75: Down by a goal HG for Jozy. Tied or up, Edu for Torres.
This assumes that Torres or Jozy can go 90 at this level. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Like I said, I might be crazy thinking this way.
Right on.
Some of the players on the English team are hyped just because they are English. Gareth Barry? Emile Heskey? Peter Crouch? Aaron Lennon and Shawn-Wright Philips? Robert Green?
You know, only John Terry made the all-tournament World Cup team in 2006.
I think if Donovan played in England fulltime he could easily start for them
Donovan played 10 games (7 starts)
Scored 2 goals and had 3 assists
He would have easily had 10 goals and 10 assists if he played for everton all year and i am talking about just league games
For a winger that is amazing
Well, I don’t agree that Madrid has the most talent of those teams, but in general those teams aren’t too far apart in talent, and any of those teams could beat each other on a given day (obviously some teams would win more than others). All I’m saying is that talent-wise, the US does not match up to England. I didn’t say anything about strategy, heart or any of that. Bottom line, England is made up of the EPL’s best players, and the US is lucky to have their best players on a few mid-table to bottom teams in the EPL. I’m sorry, but if England can play well (which is certainly not a given), they could go very far and compete with anyone, especially if Rooney is on fire, and I don’t think you can argue with that…
I would love to be able to say this and feel like it was true, sadly Edu and Torres would def not make it
The other would def make it
I’d disagree with you. The English team is absolutely loaded with world-class talent and the US is the one full of solid players who know their roles. US discipline and team cohesion is what has taken us so (relatively) far despite our lack of talent in comparison to other nations.
Good post.
However, Donovan is much more effective (IMO) on the flank. I think you switch Deuce and Lando, and I think you have the starting lineup.
And, I agree…an early goal for England would absolutely KILL us. Capello is too good (and BB not good enough) to allow us to mount anything in response.
I thought torres played better d than both bradley and edu while he was in the game. Edu unfortunately ball watches more than he should and Bradley gets caught up the field too much. I didn’t think the edu/bradley duo had enough time together to have any clue on how to handle lampard and stevie g. Edu isn’t the answer.
if going by recent form!
For those saying Capello would take Howard over Hahnemann, I contend that he wouldn’t.
http://www.castrolfootball.com/rankings/rankings/player/3856/M.%20Hahnemann
… the players BB most concerned about other than WAYNE ROONEY, that is…
away goals said in reply to andrew in tampa…
I think bill’s question adds some perspective. If nothing else, it shows how important strategy, work rate and cohesion are since the US isn’t going to out-talent most teams.
+1+1+1
people are missing a few crucial details about England – firstly, Gerrard is not as good as people think, and he hasn’t been consistently good for England.
Secondly, the players I would be most concerned about if I were Bob Bradley are Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson – these guys can fly, add real width to the England attack, and the US Defense sucks on the flanks. with 5 in midfield we shouldn’t be concerned about Gerrard/Milner/Lampard, but did you see the strike Glen Johnson put in a could of weeks ago? shambolic defender but loves to attack…
All of that said, I think we can get at least a draw as long as we don’t show them too much respect and attack…
no, but if Bradley starts the right mix of youth and talent, it won’t matter, cause they might be too naive and too cocky to care!
Warnock over Baines. There is no cover if Cole gets hurt.
time to refill the crack pipe, bubba
well, then here’s what we line up against them (like wow, Scoob)
———–Altidore————
–Beasely—Donovan—Dempsey–
———Edu—Junior———-
Boca—DeMerit-Onyewu-Cherundolo
———–Howard————
60+ minute subs: Torres for Edu, Holden for Beasely
Beasely and Donovan will track back with Rooney, Gooch can handle Crouch if he’s healthy. Junior Bradley and Edu will have to be careful not to get outfoxed and outright schooled by Lamps and Stevie G. Edu will be able to take the initial lumps that will certainly be doled out at the top of the match, Junior Bradley will have to be careful to not get carded early as I’m sure everyone will try to make that happen.
The later England leaves it, the longer I like our chances of securing a result. We have to stay within a goal the entire match though. An early blowout would be a disaster.
There will never be a British team. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are way too proud of their own traditions to be willing to merge their teams with England’s.
if it’s history we’re talking about, US has a way of self-destructing at World Cups as well… 3 wins, 3 ties, 12 losses since 1990… so let’s leave history aside… if US can do what England did at 90, 98, 02, 06 world cups over the next three or four, our fans would be ecstatic…
more than half of England’s current roster would be welcome with open arms onto our team and we have no outfield player, not a single one who is even close to the same level of Lampard, Rooney, Gerrard, Terry and Ferdinand..
then there’s Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole, Bent (who did not even make it after scoring 20+ goals in the best league in the world)- while we rely upon Jozy, all of 1 goal, as the automatic starter on June 12…
so people should stop ripping on England and realize we have a small chance, if everythnig comes together, to beat them… however, if our defense plays like it has 90% of the time in 2009-10, we will lose by 2+ goals
I fully expect England to comfortably beat the US. I also believe the US matches up pretty well, talent-wise, with England. This isn’t inconsistent: the English team, while not loaded with world-class talent, is full of solid players who know their roles. On the US team, do you honestly get the same sense?
Wasting time is suggesting a non 4-4-2 line up….
I’m just so in awe and really scared of a team that has won has squat since they hosted the Cup in 1966.
Don’t sing it England fans. Just bring it.
I agree with this. England, I think, is grossly overrated. They’re a significantly better side than the US, but they’re not on the same level as Brazil, Spain, even Italy and Holland. Look at the Japan and Mexico games. Sure, they beat Mexico, but Mexico can’t defend for shi*iite. And, if you didn’t notice, neither can England. They have a major major weakness for set-pieces. Then they couldn’t score at all against an organized Japan defense. If US stays organized in the back, that’s going to make life difficult for England.
Also, anyone who saw Donovan tear it up against Chelsea and Man Utd would be a bit foolish to say he wouldn’t make the cut. He was one of the top players on the field in those games, against not only England international starters, but the best of those starters. Donovan destroyed Ashley Cole. Think Capello wouldn’t want a guy like that on his team?
Overall, this discussion has tended to pimp English football too much, and sell the US short.
Gerrard, Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry
In a heartbeat.
they will fall to brazil if they finish first, fall to argentina or germany if they finish second
tell em.
if crouch and hesky done’t scare you you haven’t been paying attention!
tampandrew, I think you need to insert a findley or holden in your lineup.
There needs to be a third speedster to divert coverage and attention from Dempsey and Donovan. England’s back four can easily cover an attacking trio and keep their eye on marking Altidore, Dempsey and Donovan. It’s why Davies was such a tipping point for NATS last summer, and it’s why the team looked so dramatically different against Turkey in the second half.
if you want a bunkered in line up that’s fine, just tell three of back four to always stay at home.
BTW if England ever moves to a UK team the world better look out.
It’s also worth noting that Lampard and Rooney are coming off extraordinary seasons. I believe in our guys and think they have a shot against England, but I bet England goes very far in the tourny this year.
One more thing, one day the US will win a World Cup before the English ever win it again.
talent for talent real madrid should get the edge over barca, as should Aresenal over Man U…
let’s put it another way. other than rooney, would would make a cut on the spain or brazil squad?
It’s really a dumb question.
Why the hell would we want our guys competing to play on the English team?
Klinsmann is right, we need to create our own identity in Football. The roster we sent down to South Africa may be heading us in the right direction to archeive this.
The US needs to actually get away from the English influence that is in our game. There is a diversity of talent here. Jose Torres has shown us the possibilities of integrating technical players with physical players. Now, let’s use our diversity to build a team that reflects the diversity of our nation.
In the long run, we will be better than the English. We just have to stop listening to their coaches. They have not won a World Cup since 1966. Since then, they have never competed for one either.