All information is
complete to and including England's last match, the seventh of the 2009-10 season,
against Egypt on 3 March 2010.
Diary
Wednesday, 3
March 2010
- The Football Association has officially confirmed Mexico and Japan as
England's pre-tournament opponents. England's last match on home soil before they embark on their World Cup
crusade this summer will be against Mexico on Monday 24 May. Following this game
the squad will travel out to Austria ahead of a match against Japan in Graz on
Sunday 30 May at the UPC-Arena. Then on Tuesday 1 June Fabio Capello will name
his final World Cup squad of 23 players and the following day this group will
meet and fly out to South Africa arriving in the country early on Thursday 3
June.
Tuesday, 11
May 2010
- Fabio Capello has made several surprise selections in his preliminary 30-man
World Cup squad.
Uncapped duo Adam Johnson and Michael
Dawson both feature along with Tom Huddlestone. Jamie Carragher comes out
of international retirement, while fellow defender Ledley King and the injured
Gareth Barry have also been picked. Stephen Warnock, Scott Parker and
Darren Bent are chosen, with the final 23-man squad to be announced by 1 June.
Under Fifa regulations, Capello is
permitted to bring players into his 23-man squad who were not included in the
preliminary party. But that would be an unusual move, meaning the final
party he takes to this summer's finals in South Africa is likely to come from
the one he has already named. Capello revealed he tried to persuade
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes to come out of international
retirement, but failed. "We tried to convince him to return but he said
no, he'd prefer to stay with his family."
Capello has included 23-year-old Joe
Hart among his three goalkeepers after the Manchester City player enjoyed an
outstanding season on loan at Birmingham. Like Hart, left-backs Leighton
Baines and Steven Warnock have one senior cap to their names and are graduates
of the England Under-21 side.
But for cover at right-back and central
defence, Capello has opted for experience with the return of versatile Liverpool
defender Carragher, who appeared at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup before
retiring in the summer of 2007.
With doubts over the fitness of Rio
Ferdinand, and Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott ruled out through injury, Capello
and assistant Franco Baldini managed to persuade Carragher into reversing his
decision.
Sunday, 23
May 2010
- Fabio Capello will field an unfamiliar
side. Portsmouth's David James and Chelsea quartet Ashley Cole,
Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and John Terry, who all played in last week's
FA Cup final, miss out.
The Italian said he may use Wayne Rooney as a lone striker
and is also pondering a switch to a 3-5-2 system. He will also give 45
minutes each to goalkeepers Joe Hart and Robert Green.
"I want flexibility in my players. My style with
England has always been 4-4-2, or 4-3-1-2 with Steven Gerrard free behind the
two forwards. But with Roma I played with three centre backs and we
have been practising that. I have to study the opponents but we can play
different styles and we have to prepare for everything. You never know
when you will get an injury, or find yourself 10 against 11. Sometimes I have
changed the style four or five times in a game, so it is important that we have
a lot of options. It will depend on which game, which moment, which score
- it will depend on a lot of different things."
England
Football Online
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