Wembley's (Mexican) Wave Off...

'Unconvincing' was the word used by most journalists to describe England's performance during last night's friendly against Mexico. Would I agree with that? Well, to an extent I guess so. Mexico are a good side and there is no doubt that they gave as good as they got, especially in the first half, yet England still managed to score 2 and then another early on in the second half. But a win is still a win and clichéd though it may be but, sometimes even the best teams have to win unconvincingly if they are to have a stab at winning some silverware come the end of the season, or in this case, tournament. It's true - last night's match will have certainly given Capello a lot to consider, on top of what he already has to think about in terms of final squad selection. But perhaps it's better that the issues are addressed now, rather than during the tournament itself...

So last night's final game at Wembley (well until September anyway) was a chance for the England players to force their way onto the team sheet. The Chelsea players and David James were given a rest after their FA Cup tie and this meant that Capello started with a somewhat unfamiliar but not inconceivable line-up. He chose Ferdinand to pair with Ledley King at centre back and opted for Leighton Baines as left back in place of first-choice Ashley Cole. In midfield, he put Gerrard out on the left with Milner and Carrick partnering up in the middle and instead of using him as a sub, started with Crouch alongside Rooney up front.

To their credit Mexico played well, keeping possession for a large part of the first half and creating several chances. Robert Green did his World Cup hopes no harm, saving well from Vela on two occasions. Mexico continued to create chances and attack despite a 17th minute header from King from a set piece. You would have thought that this would have settled England nerves somewhat, but Mexico didn't allow England to get into any kind of rhythm and tried hard to expose defensive frailties particularly down the left. Leighton Baines was caught with the ball more than once in the first half. With England ruffled, Gerrard was forced to push into the centre, leaving the left wing far more prone to Mexican attacks. It wasn't a good balance. But England made good of another set piece to get the second goal albeit one that was offside and looked to have come off Crouch's arm. But still Mexico kept on pressing forward and England was forced to sit back and defend. And for all their possession, Mexico were rewarded with a goal seconds before the half-time whistle. It was one which exposed England's defensive weaknesses again and despite Baines' goalline clearance, his rebound went straight to West Ham's Guillermo Franco who slotted the ball past his club keeper, Rob Green.

Capello made 3 changes before the second half got underway, bringing on the recently returned Jamie Carragher for Ferdinand, taking off Green for Hart and replacing Crouch with Defoe. Gerrard also swapped positions with Young PFA's Player of the Year, James Milner and this suited England's style much better. Not only was Gerrard more comfortable in the centre, which is undoubtedly his best position, but the team in general were a lot more at ease with the ball and in going forward. Indeed, Glen Johnson scored within minutes of the restart after Theo had kept the ball in play. Johnson took the ball past three defenders before unleashing a spectacular shot. It was a super goal and pretty much killed off any chance the Mexicans had of recovering from their deficit. The rest of the game continued with chances at both ends however Hart was not kept as busy as Green had been in the first half. We didn't see too much of Defoe but the late Man City sub, Adam Johnson impressed and looks to be a good prospect.

There is definitely a lot for Capello to mull over after this game and no doubt his decisions have been made a lot harder after last night. I mean, for instance, I have no idea now which keepers he will take with him. It's going to be a close call. Also, he is still waiting on Gareth Barry to prove his fitness. It was announced today that Capello will give him another week to get fit before he decides whether to take Barry or not. We didn't see any of the Chelsea players in action; Joe Cole's place doesn't look certain so he will be keen to get on the pitch against Japan come Sunday. Capello will also want to sort out the midfield so it doesn't get as imbalanced as it did in the first half. There were some positives to come out of the game as well. For example, it is clear that England are capable of getting goals and making the most out of their set piece opportunities even if they are not playing particularly well. Capello will be looking to improve on other areas of their play at their training camp in Austria.

So: maybe the England performance last night wasn't the best but several key players were missing and Capello still has a while to fiddle around with his team and work out what would be the best combination. He has the match against Japan on Sunday to come which will be played at altitude in the Austrian Alps; it will be quite interesting to see what effect, if any, altitude has on the players. The game against Japan will be Capello's last chance before he has to make his mind up and with other managers already whittling their teams down to the final 23, Capello will want to make sure he has done everything possible to ensure that the final 23 will be his best 23.

Elsewhere:

The hosts, South Africa, drew 1-1 with Bulgaria.

Ronaldo's Portugal surprisingly drew a blank against the 117th ranked Cape Verde Islands.

South Korea beat England's next opponents, Japan, 2-0.

The 'Battle of the South' saw Australia beat their neighbours, New Zealand two goals to one.

And Argentina smashed 5 past Canada.

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.

Ballack set to MISS the World Cup Finals

Following on from my previous post when I said it would be a huge loss to the German team, if Ballack were to miss the Finals, well unfortunately this looks to be the case as scans on his ankle have revealed that the damage is serious enough for him to miss the whole tournament. This is a massive shame both for the player and the German team. Ballack has had his fair share of injuries at Chelsea and has managed to recover from them, but his latest injury, coming on what was effectively the last day of the English football season, must have come as a bitter blow for the big midfielder who was set to captain his country next month. As for the German team, well Ballack's playing record speaks for itself - they have never lost a game that Ballack has been playing in since June 2005. For a long time, Ballack has been a crucial component in Germany's midfield and his presence will be sorely missed both on and off the pitch. Germany must now revise their plans without him but just how much they will be affected by the loss of their captain, remains to be seen...

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.

England & Beckham

Once again - sorry for the late post!

I had been meaning to post a quick entry about the England - Egypt game, which now seems like a long way away but it has been a crazy past few weeks.

Well, you could say it was a game of two halves. Egypt pressurised England in the first half and never really let them settle into any kind of rhythm. It was interesting to note that Lampard and Gerrard were playing together and that brought up the whole debate about whether they work well together in the centre of the park or not. Lampard had 2 good chances to score in the first half but didn't seem to be on form and Capello promptly substituted him at half time. I think Capello did well to keep a cool head, not panic and he made the right substitutions at the right time. Bringing on Crouch in the second half was a smart move - England needed some help up front as Rooney and Defoe didn't seem to be getting many chances between them. Crouch has been relegated to the Tottenham bench for much of this season but his consistent goalscoring appearances for England should definitely be considered by Capello when it comes to crunch time. England looked and played like a different side in the second half and as Egypt faded away, they took control. There are obviously still issues in the England side that Capello must be thinking about as he looks forward to the summer - particularly communication in defence and providing more service to the frontmen. Theo Walcott got a lot of stick following the game, but I think people forget he is only just 21 and recovering from a long time out on the sidelines. Following the international match, he answered his critics by scoring a superb goal against Burnley. The right-wing position is one that is being contended by several players, however, unfortunately, it will no longer be available for David Beckham to claim.

This brings me on to my next talking point - David Beckham. What a shame. I mean, you have to respect the guy immensely for his sheer effort and determination at trying to not only win a place and be on that plane to SA, but also to break the English record for the number of consecutive World Cup tournaments he has participated in. This year's world cup would have been his 4th, had he been fit. It's almost typical in a way that an England player gets an injury that rules him out right before the tournament - it's happened plenty of times before. Still, what makes it hard is the fact that Beckham is not getting any younger and this year's tournament would surely have been his last. Beckham was trying his hardest to convince Capello, who stated he would only consider taking Beckham to the tournament if he was playing regularly. It was only 2 weeks ago that he was back at OT playing for his loan side - AC Milan.

For the sentimentalists, DB's presence will be sorely missed on the pitch. However, his injury has left the right-wing spot open for another, perhaps much younger player to fill his big boots. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as England moves forward with a more youthful side compared with previous tournaments. It's hard not to feel sorry for him even though had he gone to SA, he would most probably have been kept on the bench and used as a substitute. Still, he is one of those impact substitutes who has the experience to rally the team when things aren't going well and who can get the ball moving forward. There is still no one in the England team who can quite "bend it like Beckham" and sometimes in a game, you need someone to come on and just lift the whole spirit of the game. Beckham is certainly capable of doing that. But there is some good news - despite Beckham not being able to play in the tournament, Fabio Capello has stated that he will travel with the players and stay with them during the tournament, in a sort of semi-player/coach role. I think that this is a really nice gesture by Capello and it means that even if Beckham can't assert his presence out there on the pitch, he can certainly do so in the dressing room.

Sorry!

Just a little post to apologise about the lack of activity on the blog recently. I know a few of you have been checking it regularly and have not seen anything new for a while, so I am sorry about that! The past few weeks have been a little hectic what with deadlines and the like.

But...the good news is that I have quite a few ideas that I want to write about...so expect some new entries very very soon! I will try my hardest to get myself organised and get writing...

Please keep checking back and thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it!! :)

Wayne Bridge

So: Wayne Bridge has decided to not put himself forward to be considered for this year's World Cup squad. Shocked? I was. I just don't quite understand the decision.

I mean, I understand the fact that he's obviously very upset by what's gone on and it would be quite difficult having to play with someone that's had an affair with your girlfriend. But it's the WORLD CUP!!! Thought I should emphasise that point because someone needs to. It only comes around once every four years, that means an average player will only get to play in the tournament a few times if he's lucky. It's a golden opportunity to shine on the world's stage, compete with other world class acts and most importantly, play for and represent your country. Fair enough, we don't know what is going on in Bridge's head at the moment or how he's coping with it all, but it is still quite difficult to understand the reasoning behind the decision, he made last week.

According to Bridge, his position in the squad has become "untenable and potentially divisive". Well if we are honest, it has already become divisive. But it wasn't Bridge that caused all the problems in the first place. It was Terry. So why is it that Bridge feels the need to eliminate himself from the squad when he hasn't done anything wrong? It doesn't really seem fair that ex-captain Terry gets to go ahead and play whilst Wayne must sit at home. But it doesn't have to be that way. It seems that Bridge has been pressurised into making this decision and the atmosphere surrounding the two at last weekend's game couldn't have made things any better.

To play for the World Cup and to represent your nation is an honour and a privilege. It is these kinds of tournaments that professionals dream about and the competition for a place in the final 11 is always tough. With Ashley Cole (who is having his own personal troubles at the moment - spot a trend here?), currently injured, you would expect Bridge to be the natural replacement. His decision has now put Capello in a bit of a problem as he must decide on who can fill Wayne's boots. There is no doubt that this personal situation has definitely made its way over to the pitch and is really affecting the national team.

As the England team prepare for the friendly against Egypt on Wednesday night, Capello will be assessing all his options and using the game as an opportunity to aid him in the decision making process. Some players who wish to go to South Africa may not get the opportunity to do so, so for them it may seem like a kick in the teeth that Bridge (one of the players who had been expected to go to the tournament), has backed out of such a prestigious opportunity. You would think that as professionals, they could just get on with it, after all you don't have to like each other. Maybe it's because they play in positions that are close to each other on the pitch and they must communicate but it's not like they are going to be communicating about anything other than tactics. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on Bridge but this whole Terry-Bridge situation has been blown up to mammoth proportions and really needs to be resolved. We saw what happened at the weekend when Bridge refused to shake hands with Terry - the media seemed to be more interested in that than in the actual game itself!

Capello has already made the decision to permanently strip John Terry of the captaincy and despite his behaviour of the pitch, he is a good centre back (although as of late, he hasn't been as consistent as usual - perhaps the pressure is getting to him too?). England need their defence to be rock solid if they are to do well. Then there's that thing again - team spirit. Will it ever be as good as it was during the qualifiers? Although, at this moment in time, it seems that Bridge won't be there, there are still Manchester City players in that dressing room and others who will be made to feel uncomfortable and awkward by Terry's presence.

Capello has also stated his intentions to speak with Bridge and attempt to make him reconsider his decision. At the end of the day, it is his, and only his decision to make but you just hope that when he retires from football, he doesn't look back and regret the choices he made. A World Cup is such a big deal that Bridge really does need to spend the time thinking carefully about his options. Whatever happens now, it is clear that this long running saga has not come to an end quite just yet...