World Cup Betting: Still no closer to knowing who will be in England's squad

Teams / Ralph Ellis / 08 March 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Theo Walcott impressed on Saturday against Burnley after disappointing for England on Wednesday

In a weekend where Wayne Roney sat out his game with a knee injury, Wes Brown broke a bone in his foot, Theo Walcott dazzled for Arsenal and Phil Jagielka ruled the roost at the heart of Everton's defence, Ralph Ellis tells us why there are very few certainties in Fabio Capello's squad....

"Over at Arsenal Theo Walcott, branded “brainless” for his performance in the national shirt last week, suddenly dazzled for Arsenal in a 3-1 win over Burnley. The surprise pick of the last World Cup, Walcott has had a horrible season struggling for form and especially fitness. Could he now be ready to come good again?"

An England week meant the inevitable raft of newspaper pieces trying to second guess Fabio Capello's World Cup squad. You're bound to have read one. They work with the list of certainties, the probables, and the possibles, and those who have lost their chance altogether.

Frankly, and I hate to admit it having written a few of them myself at different times, they mean absolutely nothing. There might be less than 100 days now until England begin their campaign against America on June 12 but that is still plenty of time for the best of plans to go astray. This weekend's games merely underlined the point.

Start with John Terry, proudly pulling back his sleeve to show off his captain's armband after heading the goal that clinched a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for Chelsea in a 2-0 win over Stoke. Two months ago he was certain to be England's World Cup captain, now Capello has made it clear that as long as he's in charge Terry won't wear the national team's armband again.

Terry's performance against Stoke has been hailed as a sign he's back to his best. But Capello will know there's a big difference between heading away long balls and standing up to the physical challenge of Stoke's Mama Sidibe, and the sort of attacks he'll face from top international teams. He was no more than decent against the more subtle approach of Egypt at Wembley last week and England's manager will be monitoring his form very closely from here on.

If there's one man who is listed as a certainty for Capello's squad it's Wayne Rooney. He's [1.02] to be in the 23-man list when it is named on June 1, and [17.5] to be captain against the USA. But he missed Saturday night's 1-0 win at Wolves with knee trouble and isn't certain to face Milan on Wednesday. That will remain a constant worry for Capello between now and June - and he's also just learned that Wes Brown will definitely be ruled out after breaking a bone in his foot at Molineux.

That opens the way for jack of all trades James Milner to cover the right back berth. Aston Villa's youngster was full of energy as Martin O'Neill's half-time rollicking inspired a stirring FA Cup comeback at Reading from 2-0 down to win 4-2. Whoever backed John Carew to be the FA Cup's top goalscorer at [12.0] is on to a cracking bet - his hat-trick makes him [1.81] favourite now.

Over at Arsenal Theo Walcott, branded "brainless" for his performance in the national shirt last week, suddenly dazzled for Arsenal in a 3-1 win over Burnley. The surprise pick of the last World Cup, Walcott has had a horrible season struggling for form and especially fitness. Could he now be ready to come good again? His resurgence meant the Gunners came within a couple of goals of going briefly to the top of the table, and Arsene Wenger is talking bullishly about a Premier League and Champions League double. It would pay £553 to a £10 stake if you fancy it!

Jermain Defoe moved up Capello's pecking order when he started alongside Rooney last week, but he's also carrying injuries. He hasn't played a full 90 minutes for a month now and only came on for the last ten of Tottenham's 0-0 draw at Fulham in the FA Cup. Aaron Lennon, another England would want to take, is still not fit either and losing both of them for any length of time would severely damage Spurs who are [4.1] second favourites to win the Cup and now [5.5] to pinch fourth place.

The winner of their replay meet Portsmouth who are chasing the ultimate turnaround of a season after beating Birmingham 2-0. Having backed Pompey to finish bottom all season I've turned that market green now just to hedge against the fear that their lawyers might find a way to wiggle out of the nine-point deduction.

Then there are those who'd been forgotten and are suddenly coming back into the picture. Phil Jagielka at Everton was emerging as an England player a year ago, then had complicated knee surgery and saw Sylvain Distin arrive to take his place. Now Jagielka is back, played superbly as Everton spanked Hull 5-1, and could join team mate Leighton Baines - himself a surprise winner from the John Terry/Wayne Bridge saga - on the plane.

And finally among the forgotten men there's Kieron Dyer. The man who has unwittingly been made by West Ham's new owners into the symbol of waste at Upton Park put in a decent shift as a second half substitute that almost rescued them from a 2-1 defeat by Bolton. Okay he's not going to the World Cup, but there's no better example of how things can yet change in two months before the end of the season.