Get them on the plane (except you, Stevie)

At 1pm tomorrow (that’ll be Wednesday May 16 for those of you reading from The Future), Roy Hodgson will announce his preliminary 23-man England squad for Euro 2012. This is preliminary in the sense that he’s hoping that Ashley Cole doesn’t get injured in the Champions League final before confirming it, or just in case whichever big lump he brings up front scores an own goal with an overhead kick from his own half in training between now and next week.

Hodgson has indicated today that he’ll give some of the Three Lions’ ‘experienced’ players a chance to “show that they are as good a player as we believe they were in the previous tournaments, when maybe the team has not gone quite as far as we hoped they would go”. Oh, goodie. At least, however, he’s now got Gary Neville whispering into his ear.

I wrote for Goal.com after the appointment yesterday why I think that that’s a great move, with part of it being Neville’s on-record desire to blood youth in bulk this summer. Roy’s quotes today may not be entirely reflective of a total agreement with that (Shock! Horror! England manager does not have squad dictated to him by inexperienced staffer) and perhaps indicate more of a future plan with the ‘stars’ bowing out after Poland and Ukraine. Which may be as good a compromise as we can hope for.

At any rate, though, it looks like we’re going to see exactly the sort of England squad that will be of little benefit, with the big names, whose experience is only that of repeated international failure and therefore not really the sacred commodity that those who fall back on it would have you believe, wheeled out for one last dreary dirge of a quarter-final exit.

Bringing through new ideas and inducting the internationally-inexperienced is going to be the main benefit available to England at Euro 2012. There’s flat-out no chance of them winning – there is, based on what we’ve seen, no possible combination of 23 players who will be good enough to lift the trophy. Which is fine. Getting excited about genuine chances to win tournaments down the line loses its lustre if you blindly assume that there’s an opportunity to win every one just because it’s England.

So if triumph is out of the question, why repeat the same efforts with the same squad? After all, Einstein’s definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result – and Einstein was an incredible football manager.

Instead, Hodgson should be looking to bring in the readiest young stars and give them a taste of the tournament madhouse, working with the right experienced heads who they can best learn from to put them in good stead for when they become the key parts of the World Cup 2014 side.

So here’s the 23 I’d pick. I suspect it will differ significantly from tomorrow’s announcement.

GOALKEEPERS

Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City), Robert Green (West Ham United)

Hart: Obviously first choice. Source: Emma Norén

Hardly a taxing decision, this. Joe Hart is England’s best goalkeeper by a considerable distance and will be a cornerstone of the side for many years to come. He’ll start, and then Hodgson will pray that nothing happens to him.

The backup options are not massively inspiring. John Ruddy is probably the second name to go down off the back of an excellent season for Norwich, although he has been more of a decent keeper performing at a high personal level rather than a quality stopper with a normal year. There are still the occasional errors and positional concerns about Ruddy but for the most part he has been consistent and earned the opportunity to come along.

This is in contrast to the other available options, which are very much compromises. Robert Green has done fine this year and will probably go despite playing at Championship level. Would you have full confidence in him? No, but better than Scott Carson (greener and playing at arguably similar or lower level for Bursaspor) and Paul Robinson (I mean, come on). Ben Foster’s confirmed that he won’t come out of retirement despite his West Brom manager getting the top job.

Some have called for Jack Butland to come along as the third keeper. That’s 18-year-old Jack Butland, of Birmingham, who has spent the season on loan at Cheltenham Town. Sorry, but no. He might end up brilliant, but it would be pointless for playing time, damaging to his young ego, and frankly insulting to whoever gets ignored in favour of him.

DEFENDERS

Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jones (Man Utd), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Walker gets the nod at right-back. Source: Alison Pasciuto, Flickr

Right-back is delightfully simple. Kyle Walker has had a thoroughly pleasing breakthrough season, doing well enough at both ends of the pitch, and should probably start. I would have plumped for Micah Richards if you’d asked me a couple of months ago but the City man has fallen somewhat out of favour with Roberto Mancini due to his performances slightly tailing off. He remains, though, a very useful full-back and can be the train to Walker’s jet-ski, offering a different physical option in the position. Glen Johnson is one of the men symptomatic of the Premier League’s hype machine, overrated from one promising season at Portsmouth and continually given more credit than is due at club and international level ever since. I would not bring him.

Left-back is even easier as both Ashley Cole and Leighton Baines have had excellent campaigns once again, and there is absolutely nobody else who comes close to challenging them. Kieran Gibbs needs to stay fit and prove himself over a whole season but should get his chance as second choice in 2012-13 if Cole retires from England duty after Euro 2012.

Centre-back is where things get slightly trickier. First things first, John Terry shouldn’t go. Period. I would go further and quibble with his on-pitch merits, but Iain Macintosh explains perfectly why off-field reasons mean that the Chelsea captain should be kept well away from the England squad and it seems fairly clear that the cons outweigh the pros here. God forbid, of course, if he was included then, against all the odds, they actually did somehow win, and then the court case went sour … I’m not looking to call Terry innocent or guilty, but this is just a snippet of the sort of thing that would dog the entire team all summer if he were picked. And that circus would far from help acclimatise the young players to a normal, professional tournament process.

Anyway. People who’ll actually go. Rio Ferdinand may be struggling with his back a little but is still more than solid and can offer more valuable experience in terms of actually knowing where to stand on the pitch and such basics which often elude England centre-backs. Joleon Lescott, that howler against QPR on Sunday aside, has had an exceptional year, maturing superbly under the influence of Vincent Kompany, and may even be the first-choice central defender now.

Behind them, Gary Cahill would be my first choice for cover. He’s more similar to Ferdinand than any other available centre-back in that he can actually pass the ball if he feels like it. His fitness is the only thing that needs keeping an eye out for, with Phil Jagielka waiting in case he doesn’t make it.

I’d round it off with Phil Jones. Though clearly with some maturing to do, Jones is going to be a big part of England for the foreseeable future and can offer enough now to be useful, so bring him for the experience, and he can cover in defensive midfield too if needs be.

MIDFIELDERS

Scott Parker (Tottenham, captain), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Paul Scholes (Man Utd), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Leon Osman (Everton), Ashley Young (Man Utd), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)

Carrick: England’s best midfielder. Source: Gordon Flood, Flickr

Perhaps the area where I have left my side lightest is in central midfield, especially as I would start games with three in that position. Scott Parker is not quite the first name on the teamsheet but he is perhaps the only tackling midfielder of sufficient quality with a reasonable shout of the squad and will start if fit, and remains a steady holder of the captain’s armband. No reason to quibble here.

He should be playing alongside Michael Carrick, England’s finest in his position this season. He is the closest thing that the country has to Sergio Busquets, the sort of player criminally underrated by a baying public but his sensible passing is of huge value to an international side. An undisputed starter for me, and, if he can do so alongside club team-mate Paul Scholes, so much the better. You might call my hope for the veteran’s inclusion a direct contradiction to my desire to promote youth, but I don’t think it would be. As well as offering sheer passing class, Scholes has the kind of experience that you want in a tournament squad. Having retired in 2004, he missed the worst of this generation’s overhyping, and his cool-headed professionalism is exactly what young stars should be learning from. Whether he can be persuaded out of international retirement for one last summer is of course unknown, but if anyone can, it’s Gary Neville.

England don’t have as much quality as their perceived rivals so occupying space in midfield to maximise their chances will be important, making a central three a good idea. To mix the defensive battle of Parker, Carrick’s deep mechanical distribution and Scholes’ nous and ability to get forward looks the best combination available.

Covering for them should be Frank Lampard. The Chelsea man has declined, no question, but his form since Roberto Di Matteo’s elevation has been much improved from a slightly more stationary deep position and he has put up enough of a fight for his place in the 23. I’d take him over alternatives like James Milner (who’s more of a wide man anyway) and Leon Britton (a brilliant year but Joe Allen is the real quality in the Swansea midfield).

You’ll notice that Steven Gerrard isn’t in the list. No, I’m not calling him a forward either. He’s not on the plane. The hailing of the Liverpool midfielder as the man to single-handedly change a game would not be of much benefit and the truth is that he has declined more steeply than Lampard. In trying to do everything at Anfield, Gerrard has started to do mostly nothing. His positional play has become terrible through years of such one-man-army behaviour and his form and fitness just aren’t all that these days. Gerrard has had his moments but England have bent over backwards to accommodate him for too long and they would do well to break away from that.

He has recently acted more as a forward for England these days than a midfielder, and would in my squad too, but this section looks a little thin if I don’t mention Ashley Young in it. His diving habit is exceedingly irritating, yes, but he has proved his worth as a wide man who tucks in to combine with Rooney before now and should continue that role in Poland and Ukraine.

Providing a substitute option in that area as well as central midfield or anywhere across the front in a pinch should be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He has only played a small amount of matches for Arsenal, it’s true, but you needed only to see his superb showing against AC Milan (the leg they won, obviously) to know that he already has what it takes. He wouldn’t start, but his drive and hunger to beat men and get forward, as well as remaining remarkably composed for one so young, make him a legitimately useful option.

Rounding off the midfield is my wild-card pick, Leon Osman of Everton. This was the slot I originally reserved for Milner but, as well as not getting picked for Man City of late, Milner is one of those ‘utility’ players who gets brought because he can fill in anywhere across the midfield, but without being particularly great at any of those positions. Rather than pick a specialism-free effort machine, I’d opt for Osman, who has had his best season yet for the Toffees with nowhere near the recognition merited. He won’t be around internationally for long, but he will work hard as well as possessing valuable crossing and passing ability from a more advanced midfield role.

Missing out here: Aaron Lennon – had a good year, and might be of use to a certain tall striker, but not enough of a goal threat in his own right to be on the right of a 4-3-3.  Gareth Barry – just not all that good, nowhere near as sharp defensively as Parker and not as sensible a passer as Carrick, Scholes or Lampard. Adam Johnson – going to waste at City. Andrew Surman – wouldn’t fit the system. Nathan Dyer – impressing but you couldn’t pick him ahead of Lennon.

FORWARDS

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Grant Holt (Norwich), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

Get him on the plane, dammit! Source: Jon Candy, Flickr

With few credible options, this part of the squad mostly picks itself. Rooney, despite the two-match suspension, is obvious. If he were Spanish or German, you might be tempted to drop him, but there’s just nobody else near his level or even really in his mould. He should be joined by Danny Welbeck, with whom he has been combining increasingly successfully at Old Trafford over the past months.

Theo Walcott gets the nod on the right of the front three. A striker at heart even if that end goal has been distorted a little too much by Arsenal, he offers more as an all-round forward than Lennon would in his position and has performed more or less acceptably for England over the past couple of years. In current state, Walcott wouldn’t get anywhere near a top international side, but you work with what you have.

Options up front are important. Even Spain have a tall aerial threat to bring on in Fernando Llorente, so of course England should have a physical handful available up front, but Grant Holt is more than just the quintessential big man. His 17  goals in 2011-12 have not just been a case of elbowing defenders out of the way to head home, though there is no question that that is something at which he is most accomplished. Holt is a genuinely great finisher who also happens to be a battering ram. His teamwork is admirable with plenty of running and holding-up to bring people int o play.

The other choices for his role? Andy Carroll? Potential, yes, but two or three great games at the end of an otherwise-monumentally-pants season does not a call-up signal. Carroll may eventually be ready for the international call but doing so after such a tiny burst of form would only be a damaging overreaction. If he went, played, and made one mistake, fans and media would immediately get on his back. Stability will be the key to him getting back on form long-term, and an England place now won’t bring it.

The fifth forward slot (as really is essential for major tournaments) is very hard to choose. Few merit it. Darren Bent won’t realistically be fit enough or he would get it. Bobby Zamora? Not as well as Holt. Peter Crouch? A remnant of the overhyped 2006 team who scored one incredible goal this season but has otherwise been pretty average. No defender is going to fear Crouch.

Jermain Defoe? Not playing enough at Tottenham, doesn’t really suit a 4-3-3 as an out-and-out poacher, and offers less all-round than Welbeck. Danny Graham? Maybe in 2014 if he keeps it up, but at present is behind Welbeck and Defoe. I would go for Daniel Sturridge, not because his form thrills me in any way, but because he will surely be around in the years to come so the experience should help. The Chelsea man also offers the option of a left-footed forward, a very useful variety, as well as an alternative approach on the right flank, where, unlike Walcott or Young, he can cut inside on his preferred foot to shoot.

Anyway, that’s quite enough of my rambling. I’ll leave you with my team to face France.

England (4-3-3): Hart; Walker, Ferdinand, Lescott, Cole; Carrick, Parker (c), Scholes; Welbeck, Holt, Young

Day 17: FIFAk’s Sake!

Germany 4 – 1 England

Argentina 3 – 1 Mexico

And thus concludes a thoroughly embarrassing day for FIFA and a thoroughly depressing day for me personally. Please bear with me, dear readers, as I am feeling quite sick today, and not only because of the England performance.

Let’s get one thing out of the way straight away: Frank Lampard’s brilliant lob should not have been disallowed. Yes, technology could have corrected the mistake almost immediately. Yes, it was an absolute howler for the officials and a huge egg on FIFA’s face. But let’s not let that overshadow the fact that England were absolutely abysmal apart from the 54-second period between Matthew Upson’s headed goal and “Lampsgate” (copyright: The Sun). I have never been a professional defender but it was really obvious to me that England’s positioning was all wrong, accounting for all the four German goals.

Culprit numero uno was Terry, who was playing like his first name was Hans-Dieter rather than John. He ran around chasing the ball like an exuberant puppy with absolutely no sense of organisation, and Upson followed him like the nerdy kid peering over the popular kid’s shoulder. With Gareth Barry further forward than a holding player should be because of the 4-4-2 formation, Mesut Oezil was constantly given acres of space in which to frolic like, well, an exuberant puppy. The difference is that Oezil is supposed to be that puppy. Terry is not. Elsewhere on the pitch, James Milner seemed to try but made little impact down the right, Jermain Defoe touched the ball little, and Wayne Rooney looked no less burnt out than he has done all tournament. Steven Gerrard showed signs of trying to lift the team single-handedly like he (used to) do for Liverpool, but after a few second-half long shots came to naught he faded as well. The only player to actually have a decent game was David James, despite conceding four. The goals were the fault of defensive mistakes and James prevented a couple of good chances from adding to them.

When trying to determine exactly what went wrong this summer for England, my first thought is to look primarily at the players. Whatever mistakes Fabio Capello has made (I’ll discuss those in a moment), this is a group of players who, by and large, have been part of the England setup over the past six to eight years, through three stewardships of two very different styles. They have consistently been unable to gel into a fluent team and have performed, for many years, several levels short of their club form. This is partly explainable by the fact that at club level they are surrounded by players of different nationalities, who have different mentalities and approaches to the game. However they must take responsibility for poor performances at big tournaments. Looking forward now to the future, England should take a leaf out of the German book and phase through a younger team sooner rather than later, one less burdened by years of failure. Terry in particular is one player who I don’t think should play for England again, but Upson, James, King, Heskey, Wright-Phillips, and maybe even the likes of Gerrard and Ferdinand should all be phased out. Now is the time for Joe Hart, Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott, and Jack Rodwell to be brought in alongside Milner and Rooney.

It’s hard to say whether Capello is the right person to do that or not. I like him, I think he’s the best manager England have had in a long time, and should have the experience and the knowledge to make a new England side work. He has made some serious errors in this tournament, though, of that there can be no doubt. For one thing, this World Cup should be remembered as the one that consigned the traditional 4-4-2 formation to history. Playing 4-4-2 throughout the competition, England were exposed as too flat and predictable. In the modern game at least one holding midfielder playing much deeper than Gareth Barry is required, and most good teams now operate with two deep-lying central players in a 4-2-3-1 that gives greater flexibility. Barry was too far forward to pick up attacking midfielders like Oezil and Messi, and Frank Lampard was too deep to trouble holding players like Schweinsteiger and Gilberto Silva.

Capello’s substitutions were also poor at the World Cup, particularly today. Emile Heskey has his uses but he is clearly not an out-and-out goalscorer. If you have Jermain Defoe on the pitch rather than the bench to come on as a sub to stretch the game, then you can’t replace him with Heskey when you need to score three goals to get back into the game. In the squad, Peter Crouch was a more obvious replacement. In theory, Darren Bent should have been backing up Defoe.

I hope Capello’s forthcoming meeting with the FA to decide his future involves him convincing them that he is willing to adapt his tactics to better suit the challenges of modern international football. If he can’t overcome his stubbornness, then he should be removed from his post. I hope that it doesn’t come to that, but one way or another a change is required. If he does go, then I hope somebody intelligent, thoughtful and tactically modern can be found to replace him, and that the FA avoids the temptation to knee-jerkingly appoint an Englishman on principal, because not many English managers fit that description (I’d probably settle for Woy Hodgson, but I can’t think of anyone else. The worst case scenario would be ‘Arry Bloody Redknapp).

I must of course take a moment to comment on Germany, who thoroughly deserved their win, playing well and doing exactly what was required to exploit England’s weaknesses. Another four goals wouldn’t really have flattered them. Oezil had another excellent game – I really, really like him – and so did Thomas Mueller, who pulled the trigger twice halfway through the second half with two powerful shots, and Lukas Podolski. They did again look vulnerable at the back, just less so than England.

They will be much more tested by Argentina, who weren’t at their best but did do enough to beat Mexico in their second round match. They were sent on their way, though, by an even worse incident than the Lampard disallowed goal. When Lionel Messi, who was a little more subdued this evening, flicked a pass through to Carlos Tevez who scored, Tevez was clearly offside, with not even a single player ahead of him. Disallowing the goal was bad enough but when the man operating the stadium’s big screen oopsied and replayed the decision, clearly showing everyone inside the stadium that the officials had made the wrong call. The Mexicans knew and duly surrounded the referee, the assistant who flagged the offside knew and looked hugely guilty and upset at his mistake, and the referee knew but also knew that by the letter of the law, having already given the goal, he could not reverse the decision. And so everyone played on having discovered, like the TV viewers, that the goal should not have stood within about thirty seconds of its occurence. Sepp Blatter blathers on about technology eliminating the human nature of refereeing mistakes and taking away from the authority of the officials, but when we all know almost instantly that decisions are clearly wrong it degrades the referee’s authority even more severely. The technology exists, it’s quick, and yes, there would be some difficulties in deciding and fine-tuning exactly when and how often the technology could be applied, but it’s a bog that FIFA absolutely needs to weigh into for the good of the game.

There was no doubt about the second goal, though, as Ricardo Osorio made a catastrophically bad error passing the ball straight to Gonzalo Higuain who took full advantage. From then on Mexico did not look like seriously getting back into the game, and Tevez’s second goal in the second half was magnificent, a ferocious shot from the edge of the area. Javier Hernandez pulled one back with a really good goal, completely bypassing Martin Demichelis, who still looks like a major weakness for this Argentina side, and firing home with venom. The Mexicans just didn’t put together a strong enough push to capitalise on that lifeline, though, despite the best efforts of half-time sub Pablo Barrera, who looks a real player, and will be left to wonder what might have been if they’d had a more clinical target man and less of a shafting by Lady Luck.

Germany-Argentina will now be a fascinating quarter-final, which should produce plenty of goals. Both sides are weak in defense but posess two of the tournament’s best performers so far in Oezil and Messi. I wouldn’t want to call it.

Man of the Day: Sepp Blatter. (all right, Mesut Oezil.)

Tomorrow, I can’t imagine lightning striking twice with this Slovakia side and the Netherlands should blow them away with Arjen Robben now fit and looking in dangerous form, but Brazil-Chile could go either way. The suspensions will probably take their toll in the end. Brazil to win.

World Cup Guide: Group C Preview

GROUP C

ENGLAND

FIFA World Ranking: 8

Team Colours: All white. Away kit is red shirts with white trim, white shorts, and red socks.

Manager: Fabio Capello has stamped his authority on the England team, forcing discipline and professionalism into training where Shteve McClaren let the players run the show. The Italian, who guided A.C. Milan to the Champions League in 1994, has yet to make England an excellent team but has certainly steadied the ship after McClaren’s disastrous reign. Refuses to be bullied by the media but doesn’t quite seem to have settled on his preferred tactics yet, having previously favoured pairing Wayne Rooney with Emile Heskey up front but deviating from that in the preparatory friendlies.

Form: One of the first European teams to qualify for the finals, England made good work of their qualifying group, with nine straight wins to seal their place before losing the dead rubber against Ukraine, and scored a European high of 34 goals during that campaign. The stats perhaps flattered them a little – the only game in which England really shined was the Theo Walcott-inspired demolition of Croatia in Zagreb that earned revenge over their Euro 2008 qualifying nemesis. More recently England have been uninspiring – they won friendlies against Mexico and Japan that they deserved to lose, having been outplayed in both and causing several players to lose their places in the squad, including Walcott.

Captain: Following yesterday’s tournament-ending injury to Rio Ferdinand, England are spared the most uninspiring captain of all time (Rio probably thought that when Capello told him he was the captain that they were going to pretend to be pirates) and instead Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard takes the armband. This is a huge tournament for Gerrard – coming off the back of a disappointing season for his club, he has never played consistently at his best for his country and at age 30, this may be his last chance to make an impact at the World Cup. Rumours of a £30 million bid for his services by Real Madrid will follow him throughout the summer, but Gerrard may well find the captaincy liberating, allowing him to drive the team on in the same way that he has done in the past for his club.

Key Man: It’s tempting to say Frank Lampard, but you just can’t look past Rooney, the only English striker who can really do damage to the top teams. Everything comes down to how England make room for him – it’s the unfashionable option but I think Heskey needs to play alongside him. Rooney himself has said that he prefers playing with Heskey, and Capello’s inclusion of the Aston Villa striker in the squad against his previous statement that he wouldn’t pick players not playing for their clubs shows his importance. It will also be vital that Rooney doesn’t lose his temper – he’s shown signs of improved maturity over the last couple of years, but he will be one of the first to grow frustrated if the game isn’t going well.

Man to Watch: Four years ago Owen Hargeaves won back the hearts of an entire nation by being the only English player to visibly run all over the pitch with 100% effort and determination, and this year, though he’s already better known to English fans, James Milner will be the one who can be absolutely relied on to keep going even if everything seems lost. Has been a revelation since his club manager Martin O’Neill moved him into the centre of midfield, but he can play pretty much anywhere on the pitch except maybe centre-half or in goal, and will likely be the first person that Capello turns to off the bench.

Prediction: England have a thin squad with the possible exception of the midfield and need to avoid any more injuries to key players. They do have the virtue of a kind draw, though. They should easily move past this group and you would expect them to overcome Serbia in the second round. A potential rematch with Mexico awaits in the quarter finals, which could be a stumbling block, but again England would be favourites for that. But as soon as England bump into a really good team – most likely Brazil in the semi finals – they will probably be brushed aside.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. David James (Portsmouth)

12. Robert Green (West Ham)

23. Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders

2. Glen Johnson (Liverpool)

3. Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

5. Ledley King (Tottenham)

6. John Terry (Chelsea)

13. Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

15. Matthew Upson (West Ham)

18. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)

20. Michael Dawson (Tottenham)

Midfielders

4. Steven Gerrard, captain (Liverpool)

7. Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)

8. Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

11. Joe Cole (Chelsea)

14. Gareth Barry (Manchester City)

16. James Milner (Aston Villa)

17. Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City)

22. Michael Carrick (Manchester United)

Forwards

9. Peter Crouch (Tottenham)

10. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

19. Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

21. Emile Heskey (Aston Villa)

USA

FIFA World Ranking: 14

Team Colours: White shirts with a grey diagonal stripe and red trim, white shorts with red and blue trim, white socks. Away kit is dark blue shirts with a white diagonal stripe and red trim, dark blue shorts and dark blue socks.

Manager: 52-year-old Bob Bradley managed first in college soccer and then in the MLS for nine years with Chicago Fire, MetroStars and Chivas USA. He was originally named interim national team manager following the 2006 World Cup as everyone expected Jurgen Klinsmann to take over, but while negotiations with the great striker fell though, Bradley was busy building with young players as if he was already the full-time manager. He was eventually given the job permanently in early 2007 and presided over a largely successful qualification period.

Form: The US only lost twice in the final phase of CONCACAF qualfication, once to Mexico (understandable) and once to Costa Rica (an aberration). Their form during that qualfication was at times very impressive, the win away in Honduras to secure their ticket to South Africa a particular highlight as well as a flashy 8-0 thrashing of Barbados. They’ve also made sure to play several friendlies against top quality teams (and England) in the last year or so to gain experience, and also sprung a surprise at last summer’s Confederations Cup by beating Spain in the semi finals.

Captain: Former Fulham centre-back Carlos Bocanegra now plies his trade at Rennes. He’s a solid if unspectacular defender who can also ably fill in at left-back or as a holding midfielder if necessary. For a defender, he has a pretty good international scoring rate of 12 in 78, too, so expect him to be marked heavily at corners and free-kicks. Should lead the back line well.

Key Man: Only one man – if Landon Donovan plays to his potential then the USA will be a force to be reckoned with. The most talented male footballer his country has ever produced, Donovan will play behind the forwards and look to slip in from behind and look for a shooting opportunity. He’s never quite produced the goods at a major tournament before but is now in his prime – if he doesn’t make this World Cup one to remember he may never do it.

Man to Watch: 22-year-old central midfielder Michael Bradley has fought off the predictable shouts of nepotism (he’s the manager’s son) to make himself a vital part of the American XI. At just 18 he earned a transfer to Europe with Heerenveen in Holland, where he impressed, scoring 16 goals in 52 games (including 15 in his second season, the most by any American player in a foreign league), and is now in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach. He’s a dynamic player who likes to get forward and could have a real impact on this group.

Prediction: The US are a strong side with some great goalkeepers and a handy midfield – Donovan and Bradley will be joined by Clint Dempsey, who’s had an excellent season for Fulham, and Rangers winger DaMarcus Beasley – but they have a somewhat inexperienced forward line (past Jozy Altidore and Donovan, their other three forwards have 10 caps between them) and their full-backs could be exposed by a couple of good wingers. They should definitely get out of this group and will give England a run for their money but will probably finish second. They would be underdogs in the second round where presumably Germany await them, but not incapable of springing a surprise. In fact I have a sneaky feeling that this could be a good year for the Americans. I’ll stick my neck out and say they’ll make the quarter-finals.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Tim Howard (Everton)

18. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

23. Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves)

Defenders

2. Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

3. Carlos Bocanegra, captain (Rennes)

5. Oguchi Onyewu (A.C. Milan)

6. Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)

12. Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)

15. Jay DeMerit (Watford)

21. Clarence Goodson (Start)

Midfielders

4. Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach)

7. DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers)

8. Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

10. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

11. Stuart Holden (Bolton)

13. Ricardo Clark (Frankfurt)

16. Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

19. Maurice Edu (Rangers)

22. Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus)

Forwards

9. Herculez Gomez (Pachuca)

14. Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy)

17. Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)

20. Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

ALGERIA

FIFA World Ranking: 30

Team Colours: All white with one grey sleeve and green trim on the shirts. Away kit is all green with thin vertical red and white stripes on most of the shirt.

Manager: Rabah Saadane, whose playing career was prematurely ended by a car accident at 27 years old, is now incredibly in his fifth spell as Algeria manager. He’s pretty much spent the entirety of his managerial career in the Algeria job but found time to win the African Champions League in 1989 with Raja Casablanca.

Form: Algeria’s qualification for the tournament was impressive at home but unconvincing away – which doesn’t bode too well for their trip to South Africa. They won all six games at home in the final two qualifying phases but finished deadlocked with Egypt at the end, necessitating an atmospheric tiebreaker match in neutral territory, which Algeria won. Their Africa Cup of Nations campaign went OK, starting with a terrible 3-0 loss to unfancied Malawi, but recovered to reach the semi-finals, where Egypt exacted revenge to put them out. They lost to Nigeria in the third-place playoff. They were roundly humiliated by the Republic of Ireland, who really should be here instead of France, losing 3-0 in a friendly last week, and do not look entirely ready to make a fist of this group.

Captain: 32-year-old defensive midfielder Yazid Mansouri is the most experienced member of the Algerian squad, having made his debut in 2001 and earning 65 caps since. He played briefly on loan for Coventry City in 2003 but had his contract terminated when he left to play in the Cup of Nations without his club’s permission. He doesn’t score or get forward much, and isn’t a particularly gifted player, but his experience will be important if this squad are to force their way out of the group against the odds.

Key Man: Since joining Portsmouth in 2008, Nadir Belhadj has caught the eye in an otherwise uninspiring club side, with some exciting displays down the left-side as a defender or winger. He’s plenty willing to bomb forward in search of a cross or a shot but has a tendency to blow hot and cold. Algeria need him at his best as if he plays well he is a key attacking asset.

Man to Watch: Karim Ziani is a versatile player who primarily operates down the right side of midfield but can also be utilised as a second striker. His classy performances for first Sochaux and then Marseille in Ligue 1 earned him a move to German champions Wolfsburg last summer but he has struggled for games this season. With 52 caps he is one of the more experienced players in the Algerian side but he needs to score more goals, with only 4 for his national team.

Prediction: Algeria’s squad is shockingly inexperienced – it contains 6 players with just 1 international appearance, one with only 2, three more in single figures and one, defender Carl Medjani, with none at all. They also lack a prolific striker. It’s hard to see this somewhat ragtag bunch of players making a serious impact on the group, though they may have strong periods during games against England or the USA, it seems unlikely that they would be able to dominate entire games against the likes of those teams. Qualification for the round of 16 would be a really huge achievement.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef)

16. Faouzi Chaouchi (ES Setif)

23. Rais M’Bohli (Slavia Sofia)

Defenders

2. Madjid Bougherra (Rangers)

3. Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth)

4. Antar Yahia (Bochum)

5. Rafik Halliche (Nacional de Madeira)

12. Habib Bellaid (Frankfurt)

14. Carl Medjani (AC Ajaccio)

18. Abdelkader Laifaoui (ES Setif)

20. Djamel Mesbah (Lecce)

Midfielders

6. Yazid Mansouri, captain (Lorient)

7. Ryad Boudebouz (Sochaux)

8. Mehdi Lacen (Racing Santander)

15. Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg)

17. Adlene Guedioura (Wolves)

19. Hassan Yebda (Benfica)

21. Foued Kadir (Valenciennes)

22. Djamel Abdoun (Nantes)

Forwards

9. Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena)

10. Rafik Saifi (Istres)

11. Rafik Djebbour (AEK Athens)

13. Karim Matmour (Borussia Monchengladbach)

SLOVENIA

FIFA World Ranking: 25

Team Colours: White shirts with green trim and funky green zigzag pattern across the chest, white shorts, white socks. Away kit is green shirts with yellow trim and funky yellow zigzag pattern across the chest, green shorts, green socks.

Manager: Matjaz Kek was always more known for his leadership skills than his playing ability as a player and appeared just once for his national side, but has enjoyed more success as a manager. He spent six years at Maribor, the club he finished his career at, winning two Slovenian league titles. After spending a few months coaching the Slovenian under-15s and under-16s he was given the full national team job in 2007 and upset the odds by leading Slovenia’s charge towards qualification alongside eventual group winners Slovakia, both of whom put pre-qualifying favourites Poland and the Czech Republic into the shade. He’s done a really good job with a team nobody fancied to get here.

Form: Slovenia’s surprising qualifying campaign was built on defence, conceding only four goals (only the Netherlands conceded fewer, and they played two fewer games), and they were in the hunt for the automatic qualifying spot at the top of the table until the very last day. This included two wins over the group winners Slovakia. Their playoff against Russia was thrilling, with Russia quickly taking a two-goal lead before Nejc Pecnik scored a late goal which allowed Slovenia to dig deep in defence and snatch a one-nil home win to go through on away goals. They outclassed New Zealand 3-1 in a recent friendly but will need to be ready for sterner tests than that in this group.

Captain: Robert Koren was surprisingly released by his club West Bromwich Albion having played more games for them than any outfield player in the 2008/9 Premiership season and then helping them to promotion back to the big time this year, so he will see this tournament as an opportunity to sell his services as well as lead his country. A reliable central playmaker, Koren is one of his country’s most vital assets with the most caps (46) and the most effortless talent in the squad. He picks an excellent pass and has racked up plenty of assists.

Key Man: Milivoje Novakovic is at the peak of his powers. The 31-year-old Cologne striker has a superb record of 51 goals in 108 games for his club and scored five in qualifying. He is far and away this team’s most potent goal threat and at 6’4″, he will pose a serious aerial challenge for opposition defences.

Man to Watch: This could be the summer that 25-year-old goalkeeper Samir Handanovic really makes a name for himself. The young Udinese shotstopper was part of arguably the meanest defence in Europe through qualifying and has recently won himself a bumper new contract at his club alongside talismen like Fabio Quagliarella and Asamoah Gyan.

Prediction: Slovenia should not be taken lightly. Expect some determined defending in exactly the sort of way that England, for example, usually have serious trouble with, but a lack of squad depth in midfield and up front will probably tell for Slovenia in the end. They should pick up a point or two, and could definitely get a result against Algeria, but making it to the second round is unlikely.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Samir Handanovic (Udinese)

12. Jasmin Handanovic (Mantova)

16. Aleksander Seliga (Sparta Rotterdam)

Defenders

2. Miso Brecko (FC Koln)

3. Elvedin Dzinic (Maribor)

4. Marko Suler (Gent)

5. Bostjan Cesar (Chievo Verona)

6. Branko Ilic (Lokomotiv Moscow)

13. Bojan Jokic (Chievo Verona)

19. Suad Filekovic (Maribor)

22. Matej Mavric (Koblenz)

Midfielders

8. Robert Koren, captain (unattached)

10. Valter Birsa (Auxerre)

15. Rene Krhin (Inter)

17. Andraz Kirm (Wisla Krakow)

18. Aleksander Radosavljevic (Larissa)

20. Andrej Komac (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

21. Dalibor Stevanovic (Vitesse Arnhem)

Forwards

7. Nejc Pecnik (Nacional de Madeira)

9. Zlatan Ljubijankic (Gent)

11. Milivoje Novakovic (FC Koln)

14. Zlatko Dedic (Bochum)

23. Tim Matavz (Groningen)

Lambert for England – the campaign starts here

It’s generally accepted that aside from Wayne Rooney, England do not have an embarrassment of riches up front. The choices available to Capello are mostly uninspiring – Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe, Carlton Cole, Darren Bent, Bobby Zamora, Michael Owen… none of these names are going to strike fear into the hearts of the opposition at the World Cup. Everyone will know about these players. So why not bring someone who could not only work well together with Rooney, but about whom the international community will have no intelligence whatsoever?

I am talking, in a hilariously partisan way, about Southampton’s Rickie Lambert.

No! Wait! Don’t go! Hear me out. Lambert is the top scorer in League One this year with a ludicrous 29 league goals and 37 in all competitions. He has also provided countless more with his highly intelligent hold-up target man play, as Southampton finished with 85 league goals, just four behind leaders and champions Norwich. Every time I’ve seen him this season, be it live or on television, he has been the best player on the pitch by a distance. His reading of the game is incredible and he could clearly play at a much higher level.

There are three players vying for a seat on the plane as a target man – Heskey, who can hold the ball up and bring players in but can’t score for toffee, Crouch, who can put a few away but is less skilled at leading the line, and Cole, who doesn’t really do either to a high enough standard. Lambert we know can do both.

Am I saying this just because I’m a Southampton fan? Probably – if I weren’t I certainly wouldn’t have seen enough of Lambert to pass judgement. But I’m firmly of the belief that it’s worth taking one player to a major tournament about whom nobody else knows anything. And I think Rickie Lambert should be that man. A strikeforce of Rooney, Lambert, Heskey, Defoe, and one of Crouch and Bent (probably Crouch) would give all kinds of options, especially if another Southampton favourite Theo Walcott is on the plane as well for the right-wing berth. C’mon, Fabio, it’s only the World Cup – what have you got to lose?