Poignant SG England vs JapanTom Huddlestone and Darren Bent have both been confirmed as members of England's starting XI to face Japan on Sunday. The pair are widely seen as outsiders for places in Fabio Capello's final 23-man squad but now have a final chance to stake their claim to a place on the plane to South Africa 2010. Given the form of Peter Crouch and Capello's admiration for Emile Heskey's ability to hold the ball up and Jermain Defoe's pacy trickery the match is crucial for Bent. The Sunderland hitman was ruled-out of Monday's 3-1 victory over Mexico due to a hamstring injury and has yet to show the talent for England that saw him net 24 Premier League goals last season. Huddlestone came off the bench against Mexico and is seen by many as an alternative to Gareth Barry if the Manchester City man is unable to shrug of an ankle injury in time. And Capello insists he is a fan of the Spurs man in that all-important holding midfield role. "I have seen Huddlestone in a lot of games," Capello told reporters. "This year he always played very well as a holding player and I am happy because he is here as he is one of the important English players." Other selections against Japan include Portsmouth's David James who will start his first international match since the qualifying victory over Ukraine in April 2009 and Spurs' Aaron Lennon. It is thought Lennon will also be handed a a starting berth on the left wing after hugging that touchline in training for much of this week.
Rooney9 SG England is just a hustle and bustle team with little skills. they score goals via corners, fk and pk. england is just like bolton in international football. When people say england is favourites for the world cup, I was like laughing inside. how to win the world cup with their brand of long balls for the strikers to chase. this is the anti thesis of how football is played. I am wondering why cant they play spain or brazil, possession football.
Rooney9 SG england is a team that is built on hype. their brand of football is shitty. you see long balls being played to the front two from defenders. the england defenders gave away the ball so cheaply by passing long balls to rooney to chase. more often than not, the long balls were given to the opponents for them to launch a new attack.
SGporkz SG gosh..sorry but seriously... england sucks man.. they cant even complete 4 passes..oh...i cant believe it.
SGporkz SG lol..funny... england fans all v sian .. all face plam liao...they cant even do 4 passes .. japan dominate them.. if ronney put on that blue shirt.. more than 1 goal liao.
SGporkz SG wa no eye see wtf. LOL...LOL LOL LOL! drama sia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!free kick for england...lampard take then a member from japan name honda go purpsoly handball it in the box... he think he e-honda...pK... n lampard missed!HAHA
Just_do_it_lah SG no pressure maybe... (friendly game)all of them (3 lions) seems very causal on their approach to the game..
Paisley SG Mass England substitutions: Joe Hart, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Steven Gerrard on, David James, Glen Johnson, Tom Huddlestone, Theo Walcott and Darren Bent off.
SGporkz SG Capello has got a problem with the Japanese coach?since japs score a goal he like that liao...lol...
