Capello's 30...

So as promised, a detailed analysis of the England provisional squad as we look ahead to the scheduled friendlies against Mexico and Japan. Remember this group of 30 players will be whittled down to just 23. Whatever happens 7 must be cut. The players will no doubt be feeling the pressure as time runs out to prove that they have what it takes to get on that plane.

Let's start with the keeper situation. Joe Hart has earned himself a place in the trio of keepers selected by Capello, after a great season on-loan with Birmingham. David James and Robert Green make up the other two. Green and James, in particular, have a lot of experience in big tournaments; Joe Hart will be looking to use SA as an opportunity to increase his somewhat limited experience. I watched James playing for Portsmouth in the FA Cup final at the weekend, and he pulled off some fine saves to keep Portsmouth in the game for a long time. Despite Pompey's relegation this season, I think he has come a fair way away from the "Calamity James" we all cringed at. One keeper not heading for the African continent is Paul Robinson. He had been Sven and McClaren's first choice keeper in previous tournaments, and his club manager Big Sam, is a little miffed at his exclusion, to say the least. Unlike some managers, Capello has picked the perfect number of goalkeepers you would take to a World Cup tournament (Spain's manager has picked 5), but if he is having trouble deciding who to leave behind, then he may well only take 2. If this is to be the case, I think he would leave Green behind.

Moving on to defenders and one shock inclusion, whom you wouldn't really be expecting to see on the England teamsheet is Liverpool's Jamie Carragher, who has been coaxed out of retirement to make himself available as a possible centre/full back for Capello. Carragher's experience and versatility make him a good catch for Capello who has no shortage of injury doubts and worries at the back. Michael Dawson has had a great season for Tottenham, however his fellow team-mate, Ledley King is one of those injury worries, after suffering from a knee problem for the best part of this season. Leighton Baines who played for England earlier this season has been named as one of 10 defenders hoping to go all the way. Ashley Cole has made a good return back from injury to vie for the left-back position, and with no Wayne Bridge, he looks to be a safe bet to be heading to SA. Despite his off-field antics, ex-captain, John Terry has been chosen alongside Liverpool's Glen Johnson. There are still doubts over the fitness levels of Rio Ferdinand, who has also missed a large chunk of Man U's season. Fabio's other options include Steve Warnock and Matt Upson.

Capello has chosen 12 midfielding possibilities. It seems a dead cert that Lampard, Gerrard and Carrick will be playing in SA. To this, I would also add James Milner who has been phenomenal this season. Joe Cole and Gareth Barry are both injury doubts; Cole only just having returned back from injury, although he declared the other day that after having done a few fitness tests, he was the fittest Chelsea player on the team. Perhaps so but Capello will be keen to see just how fit he really is at their training camp in Austria and during the upcoming friendlies. Gareth Barry suffered an ankle injury and is due to undergo a fitness test soon, should he fail that, it would make Capello's life slightly easier in terms of decision-making and who to leave behind. Capello has stated that if Barry were not to be fit, he may consider opting for a 3-5-2 formation, with 3 central defenders at the back. Personally, I think he should stick with what England know best, i.e. 4-4-2. It is what they feel most comfortable with and the last time the 3-5-2 system was employed, England lost away to Croatia. Less said about that the better. Huddlestone, Lennon and Wright-Phillips have also been selected after having a great season with their respective clubs. I think Lennon will also be definitely going to SA. After injury had ruled out David Beckham for vying for the right-wing position, Theo Walcott will be in with a good shot in playing at next month's tournament. Scott Parker makes up the twelfth midfielder hoping to impress Capello before he has to make his mind up.

Finally, it is a huge blow for Bobby Zamora to not be able to fight it out for one of the forward positions after the amazing goal-scoring season he has had for Fulham, particularly during their Europa League campaign. Had it not been for his Achilles tendon, he would surely have been one of the favourites to make it on that plane alongside Rooney. It is a massive blow for the player as it would have capped off a great season for him. I think Capello is going to have a tough decision regarding which forwards to take, other than Rooney of course. Bent has had a fine goal-scoring season for Sunderland. His move from Tottenham has really worked well in his favour. Then there's everybody's favourite robo-dancer and wonder-sub, Peter Crouch, who it has to be said has come and scored late on in a game more than a few times now. However, he has been relegated to the bench at Spurs in favour of Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, who has also been selected. Definitely something for Capello to chew on there. Making up the last choice of striker is Emile Heskey. The big, hefty centre forward has always been a firm favourite of Capello and it is true that he has played quite well in assisting Rooney up front and creating chances. The big criticism of Heskey is that he doesn't score often enough! Will that be a deciding factor in Capello's final choices? Only time will tell. Capello must make his mind up by 1st June and it will certainly be interesting to see who the Italian goes for in the end.

Provisional Squads...

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, exams have been taking over my life.

But...now that they are over, it's time to finally concentrate on the main event taking centre stage this summer...that's right, there are now only 25 days left until it all kicks off in South Africa!!!

So, every manager has now announced their 30 man provisional squad (or just under 30), and after a few friendlies, the squads will be reduced to the final 23! So I thought it apt to take a look at whether some of the other nations' teams have thrown up any surprises. A more detailed post on the England provisional team will appear soon!

So looking at the French squad first up and it's a shock to see Vieira missing from the list. Vieira has been a major force in the French team and has been present for the best part of a decade. He was a central component in the team that won in 2000 and was also part of the World Cup campaign in 1998, coming on as a substitute in the final. He offers experience and presence in midfield, but perhaps Domenech feels it is time for a more youthful approach. Since signing for Man City, Vieira has had limited opportunity to shine, often coming off the bench and it is clear to see that he is only a shadow of the player he was at Arsenal. Still, it is nice to see him taking it all in good grace, declaring that he respects Domenech's decision which he can see was made on "sporting grounds". Still it is somewhat of a shame as this would surely have been his last World Cup. Other surprise exclusions include Nasri and Benzema. Benzema, who transferred to Real Madrid from Lyon this year has had somewhat of a frustrating season both on and off the pitch. The saga surrounding the private life of some of the French team's finest footballers would have been an unwanted distraction to Domenech's preparations, yet he has included Ribery, Ben Arfa and Govou in his squad despite their role in the scandal. Djibril Cisse was also a surprise call-up, the former Liverpool man hasn't played for the national team since he was not included in the squad for Euro 2008. Hugo Lloris has also been given the No.1 position after his impressive performances for Lyon. It seems that Domenech is opting for a more younger, fresher looking squad than seen in previous tournaments, with experience coming from the likes of Gallas, Toulalan and captain, Henry.

Diego Forlan has been given a place in the Uruguayan squad and quite rightly so, after the wondrous season he has had with Atletico Madrid, not only scoring the winning goal in the Europa League final but also hitting the back of the net plenty of times in La Liga this season and last season too!

Meanwhile, Diego Maradona, who in the past has more than enjoyed rotating his squad about has opted to leave out Cambiasso and Zanetti despite them being crucial components of the Inter team that are about to play in this season's Champions League final. Also, only one half of the Milito brothers will be in with a shot in getting on that plane to SA - Gabriel Milito has been left out of the squad but Diego Milito will have a chance to prove his worth in the upcoming friendlies. Also it should come as no surprise that Barca's star man, Lio Messi has made it in and is one of those virtually guaranteed to be heading to SA in a few weeks time.

The Algerian squad has been massively affected by injuries but they should be boosted by the addition of 3 French Junior Internationals who have been cleared by FIFA to play for the Algerian senior team.

The German team is currently awaiting scan results for their captain Michael Ballack after he was injured in Chelsea's FA Cup Final win yesterday against Portsmouth. The confident midfielder admitted he was concerned about his participation in the tournament after being substituted off due to a bad tackle on his ankle. If Ballack is unable to participate, it would be a huge blow to the Germans. Nonetheless, manager Joachim Low has opted for plenty of experience by choosing many of the players who reached the semi-final of the World Cup in 2006. Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Klose, Lahm, Mertesacker have all experienced the World Cup before. What's unusual is that Low has not picked any player from, last season's Bundesliga winners, Wolfsburg. Instead he has picked two uncapped players in Daniel Aogo and Holger Badstuber. I have seen Badstuber playing for Bayern this season in the CL and he has been pretty impressive in his defensive duties. He looks to be a really promising prospect.

A noticeable miss for the Dutch squad is Ruud van Nistelrooy. He actually reversed his decision to retire but worries over his fitness levels and injuries this season have ultimately resulted in his omission.

The big player missing from Brazil's team is Ronaldinho. It seems strange to go into a massive tournament without him, but the coach, Dunga, has decided against including him in the 23-man squad. Instead Ronaldinho has a chance to become one of the 7 stand-by players. Ronaldinho has played quite well this season for AC Milan and he had hoped to add to his previous two appearances at World Cup finals in 2002 and 2006 respectively.

Finally, strong favourites Spain have decided to include the injured Fabregas, Torres and Iniesta in their provisional squad. All three are in a race against time and are determined to get fit before the tournament gets underway. There is no doubt that they figure heavily in the Spanish team and will be huge losses if they don't get fit in time. It is a little bit of a risk for Spanish boss, del Bosque, but risks that could be well worth it for the European champions. Del Bosque has picked 5 goalkeepers and all have great quality. Casillas will no doubt occupy the no.1 spot and Reina will be strong favourite as first-choice reserve, but a call up for Atletico's 19 year old goalkeeper David de Gea and Barca's keeper Victor Valdes means that competition will be tough in battling it out for the 3rd spot. De Gea has been phenomenal in the Europa League this season for Atletico. His tall, towering presence combined with fresh youthful energy has clearly been picked up on by the Spanish manager. Valdes has also been rock solid at the back for Barca, particularly in La Liga and the Champions League. Valdes' teammate, Pedro has also been included in the provisional squad after having a great season with the Catalans, however his teammate Bojan has not been included. Still, Bojan is very young and has many chances to be part of what is looking to be a very strong Spanish side, in the future. Finally, the veteran Raul will not be featuring at this year's finals in what would surely have been his last World Cup tournament.