Fabio Capello Names Latest England Squad

Beckham out as England coach rings the changes

Nov 16, 2008

There's no place for favouritism as Don Fabio calls on youth ahead of clash with arch-rivals Germany.

If David Beckham wasn’t counting the days until his Italian adventure begins then he surely must be now. With no place for the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder in England coach Fabio Capello’s 23 man squad for next Wednesday’s potential funeral in Berlin, several weeks of sitting it out courtside at LA Lakers games await before Serie A and the haute couture of Milan beckons in February.

It will be the first time the Three Lions have faced a unified Germany in the capital city since 1938, but the only thing Becks will be kicking is his heels until the New Year and the promise of meaningful club football courtesy of a loan move to AC Milan. Indeed, the former skipper’s next available opportunity to equal Bobby Moore’s outfield record of 108 England caps will come on February 7th when European champions Spain face the Three Lions in Seville before World Cup qualification resumes at home to Ukraine on April 1st.

Beckham won’t be the only Londoner fighting for the remote control on Wednesday evening, with the more likely prospect of David Bentley – resurgent since Harry Redknapp quit Sandbanks for the Tottenham High Road – once more finding himself excluded at the expense of another in-form winger; Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips. Injuries mean Joe Cole (hamstring), Ashley Cole (hamstring) and Emile Heskey (hamstring) will be joining Beckham and Bentley on the missing list, while Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, Wesley Brown and Wayne Rooney – all absent from yesterday’s 5-0 thrashing of Stoke – also miss out due to respective knee, calf and back problems.

Over on Tyneside forgotten man Michael Owen, whose diminutive shadow still hangs over the England squad, has also been overlooked with Capello favouring Portsmouth little and large act Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe. Meanwhile Darren Bent, who hasn’t seen the inside of an England shirt since his late cameo in their ignominious defeat at the hands of Croatia last November, earns himself a recall thanks to his recent goal scoring exploits for Tottenham Hotspur. Making up a trio of players called in from the international wilderness are Manchester City’s out of sorts centre-back Micah Richards and Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, who benefits from the prolonged absence of Owen Hargreaves.

Of the three uncapped players travelling to Germany on Monday week none can be more surprised than 20 year old centre-back Michael Mancienne. The Chelsea player, currently on loan at Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers, has impressed since establishing himself in Stuart Pearce’s under 21 side and has no doubt benefitted from Pearce’s close relationship with the England manager. If he’s nervous then solace can be found in the presence of his two uncapped colleagues - Aston Villa duo Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor, whose knuckles must smart after spending the last 12 months knocking on Capello’s door.

Since their first meeting – a 3-3 draw at the Deutsches Stadion in Nuremburg back in 1930 – England and Germany have provided some unforgettable moments when pitched against one another. Who can forget Paul Gascoigne’s tears during the World Cup semi-final in 1990? Or Gareth Southgate’s dramatic penalty miss during the Euro ‘96 semi-final shoot-out? What about Michael Owen’s glorious hat-trick in the 5-1 demolition of Germany on their own turf? Owen might cast a wistful eye over that match ball and curse the various set-backs that have hampered his game over the last three seasons while somewhere in the beautiful hills of Beverley David Beckham, who skippered the side on that cold September night in Munich seven years ago, will be wondering if a brief stop-over in Milan is enough to save his flagging international career.

The Squad

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