World Cup Squad - Analysis

When Roy Hodgson announced his final 23 players that were going off to Rio for the World Cup, I felt as though for the first time in the last two decades, an England manager had eventually got it right.

Roy made big decisions, undoubtedly, selecting Southampton's Luke Shaw ahead of Ashley Cole who has won 107 International caps was a major talking point but I will be first to say that Roy made the right call (coming from a Chelsea fan). 

Its about time we looked to the future, too many times we have relied on our senior players to step up and too many times they have failed on the International stage. Why not give our younger players a chance to prove themselves? We go into this tournament with little to no expectation so why not take a gamble?

You cannot argue that players like Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling don't deserve to go because they have all had magnificent seasons at their respective clubs and fully deserved selection for the preliminary 30-man squad.

No-one can deny that Shaw has had a brilliant season under Mauricio Pochettino, nor can anyone deny that Barkley had been a major factor in Everton's Champions League push. The main talking point was the fact that they, among others, are going off to compete in their first international tourbament at senior level with no experience to speak of.

Even before this season, Barkley and Shaw had barely and Premier League expereince then suddenly 12 months later they are off to the biggest tournament their is in football... risky from Roy to say the least.

But can we not applaud Hodgson in his decision to give our youth a chance, Cole defensively is a much better play than Shaw. Going forward however, Cole's advancing years and Shaw's strength and pace suggest that Roy has favoured attack over defense. Again risky, but brave.

Barkley got the nod over Michael Carrick who, for the past two years, has earned respect from a lot of critics. His vision and defensive solidarity is unquestionable but sadly he has sunk along with his club this year and it is hard to shine when the rest of your team aren't performing (bar Wayne Rooney).

Once again, Roy looked towards our youth and again, in my opinion, made the correct decision. Barkley has got everything you look for in a midfielder, he is big, has immense strength, he can pass, score goals and he can defend as well, it would not surprise me if he managed to start a game throughout the tournament.  

Hodgson also had to make big calls on injuries, Kyle Walker was the unfortunate player to not make the cut due to his ongoing pelvic injury that has kept him out of Tottenham's team since March.

Although Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere did manage to make the cut after nursing their injuries just in time for Hodgson. Chamberlain has been a big player under Hodgson, you would think even if it was a 50/50 chance Chamberlian would have been fit, Roy would have opted to take him. He, alongisde Srerling is someone who I believe can be the difference for us in Rio and I am glad he has passed fit for the summer.

The other two big decisions Roy had to make was the fourth striker and the third goalkeeper. Between Andy Carroll, Jermanin Defoe and Rickie Lambert, Roy chose Lambert to accompany Rooney, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck on the plane. Again, correct decision. Carroll hasn't done enough since coming back from injury to warrant a seat on the plane. Defoe on the other hand kissed goodbye to his World Cup dream when he decided to go to Toronto FC in January. Lambert has been a consistent goalscorer for Southampton this year and adds something different to what our other three strikers have. This will most likely be his first and last International tournament which for me means he will want to leave a mark on his short international career.

The goalkeeping decision was harsh on John Ruddy, who missed out at Euro 2012 due to breaking his finger and will miss out again to Fraser Forster who has enjoyed a great season at Celtic. Ruddy has been instrumental in giving Norwich a fighting chance to stay in the Premier League this season but Hodgson perhaps looked towards the European experience Forster had by playing in the Champions League. As I said, harsh on Ruddy but you cannot argeu that Forrster doesn't deserve a chance to represent his country.

Here is the squad and the list of players on standby in full:

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart (Manchester City). 

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United). 

Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal). 

Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United). 

Standby: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).