2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying and International Friendlies 14th August *** Spoilers ***

Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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Wednesday 14

World Cup Qualifying​

Northern Ireland v Russia, Grp F, 19:45, Sky Sports 3​

International Friendly​

Wales v R. of Ireland, 19:45, Sky Sports 1
England v Scotland, 20:00, ITV and Radio 5 live

Kazakhstan v Georgia, 15:00
Belarus v Montenegro, 16:30
Azerbaijan v Malta, 17:00
Estonia v Latvia, 17:00
Finland v Slovenia, 17:00
Moldova v Andorra, 18:00
Luxembourg v Lithuania, 18:30
Colombia v Serbia, 19:00
Romania v Slovakia, 19:00
Sweden v Norway, 19:00
Ukraine v Israel, 19:00
Liechtenstein v Croatia, 19:15
Austria v Greece, 19:30
Hungary v Czech Rep., 19:30
Turkey v Ghana, 19:30
Albania v Armenia, 19:45
Germany v Paraguay, 19:45, ESPN
Italy v Argentina, 19:45
Macedonia v Bulgaria, 19:45
Poland v Denmark, 19:45
Belgium v France, 20:00
England v Scotland, 20:00
Switzerland v Brazil, 20:00, BT Sport 1
Bosnia-H v USA, 20:30, EUROSPORT
Portugal v Netherlands, 20:30
Iceland v Faroe Islands, 20:45
Ecuador v Spain, 21:00​
 
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England squad for the Scotland game:

Ben Foster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy

Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker

Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Wilshere, Young, Zaha

Jermain Defoe, Rickie Lambert, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck​
 
Yay an England game I might watch just incase Lambert comes on :) (first time I've really cared since Lallana was on the bench)
 
Nothing wrong with questioning why someone with no premier league experience whatsoever is getting a call up for a an international game.
 
I thought that you were inferring that it was. There are a few questionable players in that squad but Zaha sticks out for me as the most ridiculous.
 
Contemplating experimenting with a 3-5-2 as it's a friendly:

-------------Hart
----Jones---Cahill---Jagielka
Johnson----Carrick-----Baines
------Gerrard----Lampard
--------Defoe---Rooney
 
With a 20,000 strong Tartan Army heading for Wembley it promises to be quite an atmosphere tonight. :D
 
CliffyG said:
I thought that you were inferring that it was. There are a few questionable players in that squad but Zaha sticks out for me as the most ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't really call it ridiculous to be fair - I think that's somewhat over the top.

  • Has he played for England youth? Yes, at both U19 and U21 level.
  • Has he played for England before? Yes
  • Is he in form? Arguably he has the strongest form of any England winger, albeit in the Championship.
  • Has he had a good preseason? By all accounts, yes.
  • Has he recently been the subject of a ~£15m transfer? Yes

All those above points would indicate that his inclusion is justified. His progression isn't too dissimilar to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the Ox had made his first Premiership start only a few months before his first call up.

Whether Zaha is ready or not is yet to be seen, but his inclusion is far from ridiculous...
 
Many awful players have played for the U19 and U21 teams and have been let nowhere near the senior team.
Ryan Shawcross has played for England before, does that mean he should be considered?
I was under the impression that many Crystal Palace fans thought he hasn't been that great since the deal was done.
He's done OK against some pretty awful teams
What difference does it make how much he was bought for?

He is included purely because he is now a Man United player, there is no other reason at this moment in time. Until he gets some competitive high level games under his belt his inclusion is a joke.
 
CliffyG said:
Many awful players have played for the U19 and U21 teams and have been let nowhere near the senior team.
Ryan Shawcross has played for England before, does that mean he should be considered?
I was under the impression that many Crystal Palace fans thought he hasn't been that great since the deal was done.
He's done OK against some pretty awful teams
What difference does it make how much he was bought for?

He is included purely because he is now a Man United player, there is no other reason at this moment in time. Until he gets some competitive high level games under his belt his inclusion is a joke.
Click to expand...

He was also included in the England squad as a Crystal Palace player. Shawcross isn't included because his form isn't good enough and there are plenty of better centre backs than him. Zaha's form was certainly not bad towards the end of last season, particularly in the play-off semi's and the final, these games saw him score 2 goals (I think) and win the penalty which saw them win promotion.

It's also probably worth noting that although many players have played for the U19s and U21s recently, Zaha's form has been generally excellent for these teams (see England U21 qualifying results).

I can't really think of too many wingers who are in better form than him. Also, there's longevity to think about. It's pretty obvious that Zaha will likely be in many England teams for years to come, so as part of the FA wanting to ingratiate promising youngsters into the team, he's being exposed to international football... for the good of his career and also the present and future England teams. This has got nothing to do with him being "Man United player, there is no other reason at this moment in time". Had he gone to any other Premier League club, I would have bet my house on his inclusion in this squad.
 
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