Fabio Capello’s First England Lineup

The media is out in force covering tonight’s game, and we have a (preliminary) squad for tonight’s match:

Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)

Right Back: Wes Brown (Man Utd)
Centre Back: Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)
Centre Back: Matthew Upson (West Ham)
Left Back: Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

Right Winger: David Bentley (Blackburn)
Central Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Central Midfield: Owen Hargreaves (Man Utd)
Left Winger: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Support Striker: Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Striker: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

Initial thoughts: I can understand selecting David James in goal – he’s the in-form English keeper at the moment – but I would have liked to see one of the younger keepers, ideally Scott Carson, given the opportunity to play. Playing Matthew Upson and Wes Brown as part of the first-choice back four is an interesting decision, but the latter makes a great deal of sense: Brown plays right-back for the best defence in the Premiership, and does so alongside Rio Ferdinand. The alternative – Micah Richards – has been playing at centre back for the entirity of this season, and so playing him at right-back makes little sense. As for Matthew Upson, I’m skeptical, but expect to be proved wrong.

The midfield looks beautiful – I’m really looking forward to seeing it in action tonight. Up front, it will be fascinating to see Joe Cole in the support-striker role, since he hasn’t really played in that position since joining Chelsea. He seems more suited to that role than that of a left winger, and this could be Capello’s first masterstroke.

Thoughts?