What Does the Future Hold for the England Football Squad?

A makeshift England line-up defeated Andorra 2-0 on Saturday and now goes into a tough game on Wednesday. The side England played against Andorra included Lescott, Walcott, Johnson and Downing. Of course there was no place for Michael Owen who was dropped from the latest squad. England huffed and puffed in the first half struggling to break down a stubborn Andorra side. The biggest threat was often provided by Arsenal man Theo Walcott who was making his first competitive England start. Downing on the left was quite poor and Lampard was also disappointing.

In the second half England scored the goals by Joe Cole's double strike. Cole himself came on as a substitute for Downing. Beckham and Heskey also enjoyed second half run outs. It was very much a case of job done by England, but they could and perhaps should have been more impressive. All thoughts will now turn to the match against Croatia, which will be the real test for England. It has often been said that Gerrard and Lampard can't play in the same team. However this simply isn't true the reality is Lampard doesn't play well enough for England and for that reason has no right to be on the same pitch as Gerrard. He is not the only one with Downing also poor, despite being a good player at club level.

For Wednesday the team is expected to be quite different, which will present some easy and some hard choices for Capello. Downing was poor, so Joe Cole will come back in. Walcott was one of England's better performers, so it will be a tough call between him Bentley and Beckham. At the back the fit again Rio Ferdinand will return and at right back Wes Brown is expected to get the nod. Despite not playing at their best Barry and Lampard can expect to continue. Rooney is set to get Heskey as his mate up front, with Defoe dropped to the bench. On the right it is likely Beckham will play. England will need to be at their best to force a win, but if Capello can get his team and tactics right then England have a great chance. Of course it will be a very different team that plays Croatia, so a very different level of performance is expected. Not having Steven Gerrard available is a big loss because England needs its best players for the big games.