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Capello names his first squad
31/01/2008 18:46 - (SA)
London - Fabio Capello left out David Beckham and picked two new players when he named his first squad as England coach on Thursday.
Capello omitted Beckham from a provisional group of 30 players for next Wednesday's friendly against Switzerland because the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder hasn't played a competitive match since November.
The Italian coach said he will give Beckham another chance to make his 100th national team appearance if the former captain shows good form when Major League Soccer restarts in April.
"I know there has been a lot of discussion about David Beckham," Capello said. "When I spoke with David on the phone yesterday, (Wednesday) I advised him that he is still part of my plans and once he is playing regularly in America we will look closely at him again."
Capello instead chose Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Blackburn's David Bentley as contenders for Beckham's role on the right of midfield, although one could miss out when the coach trims the roster to a final 23 on Saturday.
After spending the past month watching Premier League and domestic cup games to assess the talent available to him, Capello also drafted in the untried Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies as he starts to build what the Football Association hopes will be a team capable of reaching and challenging for the 2010 World Cup
Agbonlahor makes the step up from the Under-21 team after scoring seven goals in 24 games to help Aston Villa rise to fifth in this season's standings, while Davies has led Villa's defence while on loan from West Bromwich Albion.
Training with Arsenal
"There were a number of players that we already knew about but there are many we have seen playing live for the first time," Capello said on the FA website.
The 32-year-old Beckham is desperate to become just the fifth player to win 100 England caps and has been training with Arsenal to keep fit.
But his omission does not necessarily end Beckham's chances of following Peter Shilton, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright to a century of England appearances.
At Real Madrid last season, Capello pulled Beckham from the first team when he announced his plans to quit Spain and join the Galaxy. The Englishman's commitment to training and Madrid's lacklustre performances soon led to a recall and the pair ended the season by winning the Spanish league.
Having already staged a similar comeback to the England team under McClaren, Beckham could now be contemplating another revival.
Agbonlahor and Davies join the established Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen up front, with Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch the other strikers in the squad.
Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been left out, two months after he was dropped by Capello's predecessor, Steve McClaren, for the 3-2 home loss to Croatia that ended England's chances of reaching the European Championship.
Scott Carson was retained despite letting in a soft early goal as Robinson's replacement against Croatia, and was joined by Wigan's Chris Kirkland and Manchester City's David James in the squad.
With captain John Terry injured, Rio Ferdinand, Ledley King, Joleon Lescott, Matthew Upson, Davies and Jonathan Woodgate were all named as contenders to play in central defence.
Micah Richards and Wes Brown, who are likely to compete to play at right back, could also fill in at centre half.
Capello did not say who would be captain for Wednesday's game.
Wright-Phillips has started showing the form that prompted Chelsea to pay Manchester City 21 million pounds for him 2 years ago, while Bentley has reportedly impressed Capello in the same position for Blackburn.
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon was used as a substitute for Beckham at the 2006 World Cup but only made the Under-21 squad for Tuesday's European Championship qualifier against Ireland, along with fellow first-team contenders Theo Walcott and Steven Taylor.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: David James, Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland.
Defenders: Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, Curtis Davies, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, Nicky Shorey, Wes Brown, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Matthew Upson, Jonathan Woodgate.
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, David Bentley, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Stuart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Jermaine Jenas, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young.
Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor, Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney.
- AP
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