Beckham recalled to England squad but who will captain the side?

Internationals / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 20 March 2008 / 2 Comments

Beckham gets his chance to earn his 100th cap against France, Foster and Carrick miss out, Wheater gets called up: but who will wear the captains' armband?

Tomorrow's papers will be all about the recall of David Beckham for next week's match against France and his opportunity to finally collect that 100th cap. If he does, he will join the most exclusive of clubs that also contains the names of Bobby Moore, Bobby Carlton, Billy Wright and Peter Shilton. Away from the hullabaloo surrounding the call-up of the man with the 1000 different hairstyles, there are call-ups for free-scoring Middlesbrough defender David Wheater and Aston Villa flyer Gabriel Agbonlahor, who are both in line to collect their first England caps should they get a game.

The omission of Man Utd keeper Ben Foster probably doesn't come as a huge surprise given that he's only played one match this season but why Michael Carrick's name isn't on the squad list is less clear. Aaron Lennon's name is nowhere to be seen either and the speedy winger has also been omitted from the Under-21 squad.

Injury-prone Jonathon Woodgate also gets a recall after impressive performances for Tottenham including a match-winning goal in the Carling Cup final and the ever-improving Joleon Lescott is there as well but aside from that, it's a case of the usual suspects.

France's squad contains eleven Premiership-based players plus two former ones in Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. Once the talk of call-ups and starting elevens is over, there's actually a match to play and Fabio Capello will want an improved performance on the 2-1 win over Switzerland that got the former Juventus boss off to a winning start but was far from eye-catching. France are [2.04] to win the game, England [3.4] and the draw is a [3.25] chance.

We all know who's in the squad but exactly who will be leading the team out is something probably only Signor Capello knows. Betfair's Next England captain market displays the names of Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Gareth Barry and Rio Ferdinand plus there's an "any other" runner which would include such players as David Beckham or sometime stand-in skipper Michael Owen.

Provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: James (Portsmouth), Carson (Aston Villa), Kirkland (Wigan)
Defenders: Bridge (Chelsea), A Cole (Chelsea), Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Brown (Man Utd), Lescott (Everton), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Wheater (Middlesbrough), Woodgate (Tottenham), Upson (West Ham)

Midfielders: Barry (Aston Villa), Young (Aston Villa), Bentley (Blackburn), J Cole (Chelsea), Lampard (Chelsea), Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Man Utd), Downing (Middlesbrough), Jenas (Tottenham)

Forwards: Walcott (Arsenal), Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Crouch (Liverpool), Rooney (Man Utd), Owen (Newcastle), Defoe (Portsmouth).

Comments (2)

1. Joe T | 20 March 2008

   It has to be John Terry for captain after Capello doesn't want to decide on a permanent captain just yet. Terry of maybe Ferdinand...

   Joe
   www.fourthewin.com

2. Rainbowwardy | 21 March 2008

   Beckham is another in a long line of exceptional captains that England have been lucky to have & anybody who doubts this should remember the World Cup qualifier v Greece. There are distinct advantages in having a mid-fielder as captain, he can roam the pitch when he needs to speak to any player & he is based in 'the engine room'. It's tricky at times for a forward or defender to do the same. Capello has already stated what he is looking for 'discipline first' & anyone considering having a bet should view the candidates with this is mind.
   Who he's dropped tell's a lot & at least one thing we already knew, he recognises quality players when he sees them. Aaron Lennon doesn't deliver a cross or pass anywhere near consistently enough, whereas Bentley does. He's got limited choices on the left side if he wants balance, Barry or Downing. And he's overloaded with options for the position Carrick wants. Foster is for the future, James is for now. His thinking is extremely like Erikkson's & he values calm level heads, on the field & in the dressing room. We saw the new shoots of discipline against the Swiss, no falling back deep in defence and we can expect the same v France. Expect 1-1 or 2-2.