Cole v Downing v Young…The Race for England’s 2010 World Cup squad

Cole: Favourite For The Role

England’s squad is widely considered to be full of great players. So much so that we English often seem to think that we can go and win the big international tournaments only to fall short and normally head home after a quarter final clash that ended with penalties. It’s easy to see why we think our squad’s so good with the likes of Ashley Cole, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand (when on form) at the back, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the middle of the pitch and Wayne Rooney charging around up front. If however it was said that there was a weakness in the England squad, a dearth of talent for a certain position – then it would surely be the position of left midfielder; a spot which England has been without a top class player for a long duration and which has often led to the lament “If only Ryan Giggs had opted to play for England!” So when it comes to the weakest position in England’s first choice eleven, who are the candidates to play in South Africa?

Joe Cole:

Joe Cole has been England’s answer to the left wing problem for a few of the recent tournaments and it’s no surprise he’s an international because Cole is an extremely skilful midfielder who is capable of great goals (as he showed in the last World Cup against Sweden) and possesses great vision to set up goals or to help out an attack which he senses needs players pushing forward. There are two problems with Cole being the answer to England’s left midfield problem; the first is that Cole is not naturally a left sided midfielder. At club level Cole has usually operated either as an attacking midfielder just behind the strikers or as a right winger but due to those positions having been well filled for England and the problems on the left Cole has been forced to operate there previously where he does not influence games as much as he would in a more natural position. The other problem is that Cole has only recently recovered from a long term injury and it’s yet to be seen if he will remain properly fit and hit the sort of good form that made him an England regular in the not-so-distant past. If Cole’s recent games are anything t go by then England have nothing to worry about as Cole has looked very impressive in recent games – but that was playing in a more natural position than the left flank. I believe that Cole will be given the left wing role for the World Cup, but only due to the lack of options available to Capello.

Stewart Downing:

Downing is a player who’s been in the England squad for what seems like a long time now without ever really impressing on the international stage. Downing was Middlesbrough’s best player for a number of years and impressed for them on the left wing, providing assists and a few goals here and there. But internationally Downing has always failed to impress and his selection has been criticised even to the point where it was suggested that he only got into the team as his former club manager Steve McLaren was England manager at the time. Downing’s currently recovering from a long term injury which has prevented him from making his debut for new club Aston Villa yet and, like with Cole, it’s yet to be seen how well he recovers from the injury and what sort of form he comes back in. Being one of the few English left wingers who have impressed in the Premiership over the past few years, Downing is likely to make the squad unless he suffers a recurrence of his injuries.

Ashley Young:

Ashley Young is something of an enigma – sometimes he looks like one of the best players in the world and on other days he’s average as hell. Young has blistering pace and skills that’ll dazzle defenders, I remember in particular a performance against Everton where the hapless Tony Hibbert had to be substituted off as he was being torn apart by Downing’s attacking prowess. Capable of scoring free kicks and sometimes an excellent provider from set pieces – though the quality of his delivery does tend to vary quite often – Young has been one of the top assisters in the Premiership in recent years and has also chipped in with a large amount of goals whilst playing on the left wing for Aston Villa. Whether the left wing is Young’s natural position is unclear; he drifts inside like a central attacking midfielder would and shows tendencies more related to central players. But his crossing can be top notch and he seems at home on the left. Oddly Young has never seemed to come into favour with any England managers and his appearances have been few and usually in friendlies as if the manager does not trust him in competitive action. Many people have called for Young’s inclusion in the squad when he has been left out but will Capello take him with to South Africa? It’s a hard one to predict

There is also always the possibility with England that a player will be played out of position (much like Cole) to fill the left wing – Steven Gerrard has been forced to in the past – whilst Capello could yet shock everyone by calling up an unknown quantity like Sven Goran Eriksson did at the last World Cup with Theo Walcott. Don’t be surprised to see the likes of promising Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson get a call-up or versatile James Milner be given a go on the left. Even Gareth Barry’s capable of playing there though Capello does prefer the Man City man in the middle. England’s problem spot is a hard one to predict and it will be interesting to see who Capello chooses to take with him this summer.