Capello Announces 23-Man Squad for France Friendly

To no one’s surprise, David Beckham was retained by England manager Fabio Capello in the final 23-man squad for the Three Lions’ friendly in Paris next week. Beckham is one cap short of 100 in his England career and if he doesn’t get it against France, and it appears that he will based on this roster, he’ll very likely get it at Wembley against the US on May 28. I’ve said that Beckham deserves this honor and that it would be just a question of when, not if, and all signs point to him becoming only the fifth player in England’s history to reach the century milestone.

Spurs keeper Paul Robinson won back his place in the England setup, although he was included because of an injury to Scott Carson. Robinson has played fairly well in goal lately and in the end, I think the only other option was Robert Green, but West Ham was torched 4-0 in three consecutive games recently and that couldn’t have impressed Capello. Either way, it’s not really going to matter. David James is going to start in goal and he fully deserves the nod.

Robinson was the only player not amongst the 30-man provisional squad to be part of this group of 23, and I have to admit that there are a couple absentees on this roster that surprise me.

The two most glaring question marks that I have are the exclusions of Villa winger Ashley Young and Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, both of whom were part of the original 30-man roster. Defoe has scored six goals in six league games since moving to the South Coast in January and Ashley Young leads the Premiership in assists this season.

Young can play on either flank, though he plays on the left for Villa, and is simply a better player than Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing. I would guess that Joe Cole will start on that left side anyway, but the only reason I can come up with for taking Downing over Young is that Downing is left-footed, which is obviously traditional for left-wingers. No other midfielder picked in this team is left-footed, so that worked in Downing’s favor as well. Even so, Young is quicker than Downing, has better skills on the ball, and can serve balls in more accurately and dangerously than the Boro midfielder.

Opting to keep Michael Owen, Theo Walcott, and Peter Crouch ahead of Jermain Defoe is stunning. Keeping Crouch is more understandable because he’s a tall target man, something England doesn’t have, and can be brought on late in a game and have a big impact. With that said, Crouch has played a combined 29 minutes in Liverpool’s last six games. Michael Owen has two goals in Newcastle’s last five games, a cheap little toe-poke off a rebound from seven yards out against Birmingham earlier in the week and his tally today against Fulham. Walcott hasn’t even been used as a striker by Arsenal lately; he’s playing wide right where he can use his pace to beat defenders to the byline and get inside the area.

Sorry, if you’re picking a team based on current form (six in six for Defoe, two goals, two assists in seven games for Young, a winger), there’s no way those two players don’t make this squad, there’s just no way.

I have no problem with the other exclusions — David Wheater, Gabby Agbonlahor, Matthew Upson (injured), and Shaun Wright-Phillips — and was happy to see that Glen Johnson and Jonathan Woodgate kept their places in the side.

It’s curious that Capello chose to name this roster tonight, even though the majority of players on it (12 out of 23) are playing tomorrow and it’s possible that one, if not more, of those guys could get injured in the physical contests we’re likely to see. On top of that, it’s possible that one, if not more, of those guys just has an awful game and may not deserve to even be in the England squad.

Full 23-Man Roster (club):

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Tottenham), Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge, John Terry, and Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)

Forwards: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle)

Based on this team, here’s who I’d pick as my starting XI (4-2-3-1):

GK: David James
LB: Joleon Lescott
RB: Glen Johnson
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Jonathan Woodgate
DMF: Owen Hargreaves
DMF: Gareth Barry
CMF: Steven Gerrard
LMF: Joe Cole
RMF: Theo Walcott
ST: Wayne Rooney

Captain: Steven Gerrard

Update (Sunday-2:23 PM): West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green was added to the squad to replace the injured Chris Kirkland.

Everton Misses Chance to Solidify 5th Place

I've been harping on the race for the UEFA Cup spots all season, especially lately since it looks like only two (one through league finish, one possibly through the Intertoto Cup) and possibly three (depending on UEFA Fair Play table results) teams will qualify for Europe's second-tier club competition. Results in the Carling Cup and FA Cup haven't really helped teams from 5th-10th place this season but have created a battle to finish in 5th and 6th.

Everton squandered an opportunity to really put a stranglehold on 5th today after their 1-1 draw with West Ham. Portsmouth, in 6th place, and Aston Villa, in 7th, both lost to lower-placed teams earlier in the day and with a win, Everton could've gone nine points clear of Pompey and ten of Villa, Blackburn, and Manchester City, which effectively would've ended the chances of those last three teams to finish 5th. Instead, Dean Ashton's equalizer for the Hammers (which Tim Howard should've saved) earned the East London club a share of the spoils and left the door open for the four teams I just mentioned.

There's a big difference between a 7-8 point and 9-10 point deficit, especially with so few games remaining in the season to bridge that gap. I'm not saying that Everton isn't in the driver's seat, but they had the opportunity to slam the door on three of the teams nipping at their heels and couldn't get the job done. The Toffees should've beaten West Ham, a team that has been awful lately and has nothing to play for, soundly at home today but they didn't.

Now, Portsmouth and Aston Villa have a decent chance to catch Everton because Liverpool’s second-most famous club has a difficult schedule to close out the season, one that includes a critical game against Villa and games against Chelsea, city rivals Liverpool, and Arsenal.

Portsmouth, by comparison, gets to play Wigan, Newcastle, Fulham, and Middlesbrough down the stretch, and their “toughest” game could very well be at West Ham, which is certainly winnable. Of course, Portsmouth could also qualify for the UEFA Cup by winning the FA Cup, which they would do if they beat Coca-Cola Championship side West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on April 5 and then either Barnsley or Cardiff City in the final on May 17.

Villa, as previously mentioned, have a chance to gain three points back against Everton when the two teams meet on April 27, and they also play Bolton, Derby, and Wigan. Their most difficult game is at Old Trafford next week, but Manchester United is their only remaining opponent outside of Everton in the top 9 in the standings.

Everton could’ve gone a long way towards sealing 5th place today. They didn’t. Will they regret it? It’s possible.

US National Team to Play England

It was first announced a couple days ago, and the US men's national team will play a friendly against England at Wembley on May 28.

It's good to see that USSF and coach Bob Bradley are scheduling big-name opposition for the US. Playing against some of the world's better teams is something that the US doesn't get to do in CONCACAF and in the long run, especially for World Cup 2010 and beyond, it is important to face countries like England, even if it is just in exhibitions.

Playing smaller countries inside CONCACAF, especially on US soil, and other relative lightweights like the US had done previously under former coaches Bruce Arena and Steve Sampson, doesn't help the US develop as a soccer nation. It's easy to beat Cuba or Guatemala and Canada; those are teams that the US isn't going to see in the World Cup and ultimately, that should be the focus in this country, not smaller tournaments like the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup.

You have to play tough opponents to prepare for the World Cup and the US has done that recently. In the past six months, the US has played games in Switzerland (1-0 victory), South Africa (1-0 victory), against Sweden (2-2), and against Mexico in a pro-Mexican environment (2-2), and will play in Poland, in England, in Spain, and possibly against Argentina in the near future. These are the type of games in which the US can improve and allow their players to get some much-needed significant international experience.

Playing England will be a good test for the Americans, competing in front of a huge crowd in a country with little respect for soccer in the States. I think England will benefit as well; surely the US is a step above the likes of Andorra, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, three of England's competitors in World Cup 2010 qualifying.

Wild Weather at White Hart Lane

If you're watching the Tottenham-Portsmouth game at White Hart Lane right now, you have to be amazed at the weather you've seen throughout the course of the match.

First of all, it's March 22 and spring is here. Apparently they didn't get the memo in England and it was snowing before the start of the game this morning. The wind was whipping and yet most players were wearing short-sleeves. Right before kickoff, Setanta showed referee Phil Dowd with snowflakes in his hair.

Fast forward to about the 30th minute, and the scene was completely different. White Hart Lane was bathed in sunlight and it looked like a very nice spring day in North London. There were no signs of the wintry weather seen half an hour earlier.

OK, fast forward another 20-25 minutes and it was snowing again. The wind had picked up and the snow was swirling and sticking to the field. The ball clearly wasn't traveling as quickly on the ground and at times, low passes seemingly took an hour to reach their destination.

As I type this, we're in the 64th minute and the snow has stopped. It sort of looks like the sun wants to come out again.

The weather has been crazy today and the game itself hasn't been too bad. Should be a great last half hour.