England is one of the best supported football teams in the world. With the English nearly assured of a place in the 2010 World Cup, the question on everybody's mind would be who is manager Fabio Capello going to take to South Africa? To be more exact, which big name players will be left out?
The player everybody is talking about today is Jermaine Defoe. Overlooked during the last World Cup, Defoe is in scintillating form, even salvaging a draw against Holland by scoring 2 goals after coming off the bench. There's still a long way to go yet, but if Defoe can maintain his scoring streak, there is no way Capello could leave him out this time.
With Wayne Rooney virtually assured of his place upfront and Capello's preference of Emile Heskey, it looks like a battle between Peter Crouch and Carlton Cole for the fourth strikers position. Crouch might not look like a world class striker, but in my opinion, he was England's best striker during the last World Cup and shouldn't be left out. That must mean the end of Michael Owen's World Cup dreams. Once one of the hottest strikers in the world, and only 29 this year, Owen must be kicking himself for his ill fated move to Newcastle United and his subsequent injury woes.
But it's in midfield where I think the biggest surprise will be. Because of the keen competition for striking positions, Theo Walcott must surely be deployed in right midfield, especially after his master class against Croatia in an earlier qualifying round. With Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the form of their lives for Tottenham and Manchester City respectively and Owen Hargreaves coming back from injury, the biggest casualty for England might be David Beckham.
Beckham would be 35 come 2010 and is desperate to secure a loan move to a top flight team to ensure his World Cup place. But even though he has figured regularly for England, time is running out for him and I will not be surprised if he's left out after the qualifying stages.
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