England name provisional 23-member squad. Uncapped 17-year-old Theo Walcott finds a place
LONDON: Sven-Goran Eriksson on Monday sprung the biggest surprise of his five-year reign as England coach by including 17-year-old forward Theo Walcott, who has not even played for the Arsenal first team, in his squad for the World Cup finals.
Uncapped Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon, 19, and the left-sided Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing were also included in England’s provisional 23-man squad for Germany, which was announced here on Monday.
As expected, Wayne Rooney was named in the squad as one of only four forwards, despite doubts about whether he will have recovered from his metatarsal injury in time to play any part in the tournament.
Eriksson admitted that his shock decision to include Walcott amounted to a gamble that he could not justify on purely rational grounds.
“Maybe it is not logical,” he said. “Sometimes you do it by feelings, and I’m excited by Theo Walcott. I cannot wait to start working with him.” The Swede said he had decided to take the teenage prodigy, who only joined Arsenal from Southampton in January, on Monday morning. “I thought about it a lot during the last month,” Eriksson said. “Of course it is a gamble. But it is a nice one I think.”
On Rooney, Eriksson said the thought of leaving the Manchester United forward at home had never crossed his mind. “I should be absolutely crazy if I didn’t pick him if it is still a possibility that he can play in the World Cup. The England supporters would never forgive me if I did that. If we were in the semi-final against Brazil, of course I would be calmer on the bench if Rooney was fit..”
Eriksson also faces an anxious wait to see if Michael Owen recovers fully from his own metatarsal problem. “Owen will be fully 100 percent fit to train with us from Monday,” Eriksson reported.
Provisional 23-man England squad for the World Cup finals
Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson (Tottenham), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich City) Defenders: Gary Neville (Manchester Utd), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester Utd), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Midfielders: David Beckham (Real Madrid/ESP), Michael Carrick (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich/GER), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
Forwards: Michael Owen (Newcastle), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Stand-by players: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace)
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