Capello Names Experimental 23 for Germany

A few shocks in Fabio Capello’s England squad for the game against Germany. And I like it.

First of all, a lot of familiar names missing. For various reasons there is no David Beckham (hasn’t played in 3 weeks) no Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey (all injured) and no Michael Owen (Fabio still not impressed.)

Here are the interesting new names, with plenty of youth to go around. Going forward: Darren Bent is back (as hoped for), and Villa duo Gabi Agbonlahor and Ashley Young will finally get to show what they can do in a white shirt.

At the back: Most eye-popping inclusion is Michael Mancienne (pictured), the 20 year old Chelsea defender currently on loan at Wolves (my team). He can play centre back or right back and brings some follicular extravagance back to the squad. Beckham and Rio have both gotten boring lately. Villa’s Curtis Davies (central defender) gets a surprising but derserved callup. Young Man City keeper Joe Hart might add to his single cap, and teammate Micah Richards is back from his U-21 banishment.

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), John Terry (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Micah Richards (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur), Peter Crouch (Portsmouth), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa).

Exciting stuff, and hopefully we’ll get to see some of these youngsters in action. Not as 80th minutes subs, but sprinkled in amongst the more experiences players from the start so we can really see what they have to offer.