The 2014 England World Cup squad is a young, healthy and talented squad. However, there are still has some problem areas. They are not favorites in Rio by any stretch of the imagination. The England World Cup squad is led by Roy Hodgson, who in naming his team is obviously under a lot of pressure, so he’ll still play it safe. At least I thought he played it safe.
Here’s how the England World Cup squad breaks down by EPL affiliation:
Man United (4, 2 standby) City (2), Liverpool (5, 1 standby…Scousers came in first 0verall here, same total as United, but they have one more on the travel team), Everton (3, 1 standby), Southampton (2), Arsenal 2). West Brom, West Ham, Chelsea 1. England is in Group D, they’ve given the second best odds of advancing. Uruguay is 60.2% according to Soccer Power Index, England 56.1%, Italy 46% and Costa Rica 37.7% For more World Cup 2014 news visit FC Bodog. The England World Cup squad is not in the most difficult grouping. The hardest road to the final is through Group B; that’s this year’s “Group of Death.”
England World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic)
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)
Attackers: 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).
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured both in Forbes and on the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)