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So I thought I'd just throw this up for a bit of friendly pre world cup banter. I'd like to set the ball rolling, being English myself with the 23 man squad that I think Fabio Capello is likely, at least at this stage, to take to South Africa next summer. Of course this is all subject to change, form, fitness and yes, even dramatic shocks included, (who could forget the inclusion of the then unheard of Theo Walcott for the 2006 World cup finals?)
Goalkeepers:
David James.
Robert Green.
Paul Robinson.
These three selections are part expectation and part hope. I'm sure that David James is the number 1 stopper in Capello's mind whether or not the rest of the nation agrees. I do think in fairness that he is capable of being brilliant, my only concern though is that he is also capable of dropping the most horrific of clangors every so often. Never the less he is clearly number 1 with Green as first choice back-up. The hope part is that Robinson gets back into the reckoning because that crisis of confidence aside after the whole Zagreb debacle he is a very good goalkeeper who is in top form again now, in spite of having a less than convincing defense in front of him at Blackburn. To be honest I think I'd be even tempted to give him the goalkeeping duties full-time again and have James as a number 2 with Green as third choice but, I can't see Capello going with that some how.
Defenders:
Glen Johnson.
Wes Brown.
John Terry.
Rio Ferdinand.
Matthew Upson.
Joleon Lescott.
Ashley Cole.
Wayne Bridge.
Some of these selections are very obvious. Terry, Ferdinand, Johnson, Cole and Upson. Injuries aside those players will be going. Brown, Lescott and Bridge though are all less certain. Wes Brown is a reasonably solid right-back and has the added benefit that he can fill in at center-back but in truth I've more picked him because it's hard to find alternatives than because I think he's done anything especially outstanding that makes him an obvious candidate. Injuries are a big concern with him too so staying fit has to be a priority. Micah Richards is an outside bet for me though and a good season for Man City might just get him back into the reckoning.
Lescott is definitely a good central defender at club level though perhaps has never quite hit club heights at international level, but if he can shrug off an indifferent start to the new campaign then he has a good chance of making the squad to SA, though probably not the first choice 11.
Wayne Bridge falls into the same category as Wes Brown for me, I'm picking him at this stage because of a lack of viable options than because I genuinely feel he is an international class defender. I'd like to see Leighton Baines of Everton get a chance, but at this stage I think it's Bridge all the way.
Midfielders:
Aaron Lennon.
Theo Walcott.
Joe Cole.
James Milner.
Steven Gerrard.
Frank Lampard.
Gareth Barry.
David Beckham.
I think this is probably the most keenly contested area for selections, just consider some of the names I haven't gone for there such as Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves. Yet funnily enough I'd say the 8 I have picked are the 8 that will most likely go. Probably the biggest question mark will be the selection of Beckham but Capello has stuck with him, time and again and it is hard to see why he'd do that if he isn't in the World cup squad plans for next summer. I can't see Carrick going unless there is an injury to either Beck's or Barry and the only chance he has of making the starting 11 is if that injury befalls Barry. If it is Beckham that he goes instead of then he will only be going to make up the numbers injuries to others aside.
I think that Young, Wright-Phillips and Downing all suffer from the same malady, namely no where near enough end product to their game given their undoubted abilities. Of the three Ashley Young stands the best chance of going, but even that isn't a very great chance.
Owen Hargreaves is perhaps the most interesting of the players I haven't selected and for me, he is the one with a genuine chance of forcing his way into the 23 but only if he can stay fit enough. Injuries have blighted his career and that is a true shame because he is a definite talent and is extremely dependable into the bargain but at this stage, I don't see him displacing any of the players I've already named.
Forwards:
Wayne Rooney.
Emile heskey.
Jermain Defoe.
Peter Crouch.
Now I might surprise one or two here by stating from the outset that I've not only picked Emile Heskey because I believe that Capello will, but also because I actually feel he should go. The obvious reason for him not being called up is that, well, he doesn't score goals and on the surface that would seem to be a good reason for not taking him as a forward. However there is a very good counter argument to that and it's one I subscribe too. Agreed he isn't a goal scorer however what he does do better than any other player England have available is create space and opportunities for others and you can't deny that it works. Over the World cup qualifying campaign just finished England netted 34 goals in 10 games and that is 6 more goals than any other team in Europe managed over the same period. That's more goals than current World champions Italy, more goals than current European champions Spain and that was in a difficult group. Nobody would relish away trips to Croatia, the Ukraine or Belarus. So while heskey himself might not score very many, he clearly makes it possible for the likes of Rooney, Gerrard and lampard too and that's why he should go. Capello has a good system and it needs Emile Heskey to make it work.
For me the only contender for one of those places I've allocated is Michael Owen though, as with a number of players I've mentioned in other positions, he needs a good, injury free season. He is an out and out goal scorer though at his best and if he can reach those heights again then of course he will have a good chance of going. It's hard to imagine any coach turning down a free scoring Michael Owen going into a World cup finals.
So there you have it, that's my 23 man squad at this stage. Agree? Disagree? And of course if there's any other topics you'd like to raise then go right on and raise them. All World cup chat is welcomed.
Dan.
go southampton!
lol dork south hampton isn't a country. heheheh
Also on things World cup related I'd just like to voice my opinion at the extremely shoddy behavior of FIFA with regard to this whole seeding for the European play offs nonsense. FIFA, suddenly in a panic that some of the so called better teams in Europe might miss out on qualification for next years finals, arbitrarily decided at the eleventh hour that the play offs would be seeded thus ensuring that the so called better teams, France and Portugal for example, who didn't manage to automatically qualify, won't now have to play each other but will instead get games against the likes of Slovenia and Bosnia for a place in next years finals.
The thing that really gets me about this decision, the blatant unfairness of it aside, is that it goes against everything that FIFA claim they're trying to achieve in the World game with it's expansion. Here they had the perfect opportunity to get smaller nations to participate in a World cup finals and they didn't even have to lift a finger and yet, one assumes for financial reasons, they had to leap right in and throw Russia, Portugal and France an additional lifeline, even though these nations already boast some of the best players in the World and yet pathetically weren't able to qualify under their own steam at the first time of asking.
I can only hope that the likes of Ireland and Slovenia pull off some shocks and get to the World cup finals next year anyway. They certainly deserve to get there and just for attempting to rig the whole thing, FIFA deserve any financial set-backs for having them there.
Dan.`
Further to my last post, seeds for the upcoming play off matches have been decided on the latest FIFA World rankings and that itself is a highly questionable system which seems to smack as much at guess work as anything else. Griping over with then. The 4 seeded teams are:
France, ranked 9 in the World.
Portugal, ranked 10,
Russia ranked 12
and Greece ranked 16.
Unseeded teams are:
Ukraine, 22,
Republic of Ireland, 34,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 42
and Slovenia, 49.
Incidentally, had the seeded teams been determined on there win-loss records from the current qualifying campaign, it is interesting to note that Portugal would have actually been displaced as a seed by the Ukraine. Read into that what you will. Had the seedings had have been determined on win-loss records they would have been as follows,
Seeded teams:
Russia.
Greece.
Ukraine.
France.
Unseeded teams:
Slovenia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Portugal.
Republic of Ireland.
So just to illustrate the point I was making about the creditability of FIFA's World ranking system, over the last 2 years worth of competitive matches played in Europe Portugal only out performed Ireland of the 8 teams involved in this contest, yet FIFA would have us believe that they're the 10th best team in the World currently and the second best team out of this crop. I think not. This is a joke, an offense and football's World governing body ought to feel very ashamed of itself.
Dan.
On a slightly different note:
As you know, usually the 32 top countries take part in the world cup, well, give or take a position here and there.
However, alarming to me, is the fact that South Africa, the hosting country, is currently rated 85th best on the rankings, ... so no where near the top 32.
Yes, it's true that they have immense problems in SAFA, but still, one would have thought that the hosting nation's team would at least be much more prepared for next year's tournament than what they are now.
To me this is kind of a laughable matter.
I think it's a good point you raise Quinten though I at least can't point the finger of blame at FIFA for that. On the contrary I applaud the decision to take the World cup to Africa for the first time. I think that is a positive step forward and a genuine way of showing commitment to expanding the game globally unlike this farcical European play offs seeding rubbish.
However, try not to get too disheartened because traditionally host nations have done well at large tournaments. Germany made it to the semi-finals in 2006 when they were hosts and eventually finished 3rd over all, in 2002 when the tournament was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea the South Koreans against all the odds became the first ever side from Asia to make a semi-final appearance in a World cup. France staged the finals in 1998 and won the event so you actually have to go back to 1994 when the United States hosted the World cup finals before you can find a host nation that didn't make it at least as far as the semi-finals, and even then it should be pointed out that they were only knocked out narrowly by Brazil in the round of 16, and Brazil of course went on to win that tournament.
So while I agree that South Africa do definitely have a big mountain in front of them, all hope is far from lost.
Dan.
if you look back at the fifa history, it is a fair chance for south Africa to get in at least quartor final if not sammi final. when it come to the cup itself, ranking doesn't seems to be matter. look at the Korea history for example, can't exactly sure where they stand at that particular year, but i'm sure they won't near the top teams either, but they manage to make it.
it is great to see the world cup finally arive in Africa. not always circuler around Europe or America. it is nice to see the football is promoted around the world. looking forward for Ireland to join the world cup very much. as Dan mention, it is nice to see some country other than the usual qualify teams join the croud
For anybody interested here is a link to a video guide to all of this years 32 participants at the 2010 World cup finals in South Africa. click here
and then simply hit enter on any nations name to watch the corresponding video.
Dan.
go Mexico! It's only been a year since Javier aguirre turned our team around, but I think we can definitely do some damage in the tournament. Uruguay will probably be the toughest to contend with, out of our group.
the opening game between South Africa just started a couple of minutes ago. i would say a close draw of 1-1. could turn up to be 2-2
the way things are going i saw see Mexico winning this game. But overall Not cause I'm half spanish but i saw see us taking it all this year.
i'd like to see mexico win.
not sure they will get right through to the final. my money is on italy, portugal, argentina, or maybe brazil.
but in all honesty, i doubt i'll follow much of it. sure i'll listen if it's on, but i'm not one of those people that just search for the commentries
Mexico will not win. Or at least, I seriously hope not. I'd honeslty rather see one of the European teams take it.