Who Will Make England’s Final World Cup Squad?

The provisional 30-man squad that will be trimmed to 23 by manager Fabio Capello before the tournament begins in South Africa was announced this week. There were some big names that will definitely not be flying to South Africa, like Gary Neville, Carlton Cole and even Paul Scholes who it transpires has been pressured by Capello to return for one last tournament for England. He declined. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson missed out as did injured striker Bobby Zamora. But this is now about the lads who did make it and we can consider who the unlucky players might be who get sent home, the pressure is really on them to perform well in training.

Each football bet that we place will rely on England having a good squad of players to back to glory so Capello must choose carefully. The provisional squad is as follows, with my predictions for those seven players who will miss out on the final squad in bold.

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

I think Capello will take all three goalkeepers, but if one is to be sacrificed it will probably be Joe Hart. In defence Jamie Carragher will provide cover at left-back and therefore Stephen Warnock will probably miss out. In central defence the two peripheral players are Dawson and Upson. As Dawson has never won a cap despite being involved in various squads I think he will be the play who is sent home.

In the midfield positions I think that it is too early for Adam Johnson and because Lampard and Gerrard are completely established in the centre Huddlestone and Parker will miss out. With Gareth Barry being injured, I expect him to be sent home as well. I believe Capello should take all four of the forwards but there is a possibility if Barry stays with the squad then it may be Carrick or Bent that is sacrificed.

The World Cup groups have been set for some time and Capello may risk taking Gareth Barry because the passage through to the knock-out stage is not nearly as difficult as it might have been and even the peripheral squad players should have enough talent to step in and still win through with something to spare. Looking at the squad I think the outcome of whether Barry can have a chance of being fit for the knock-out stages of the competition is key in regards to who gets sent home.

It is an exciting time for a sports betting fan to research into the world cup squads and how the selections will impact the odds. With a record amount of money likely to be wagered on the World Cup this summer you should sign up with an account with bwin.com and prepare for the action. Hopefully England can do it, but regardless of the eventual outcome this will be a fantastic summer of amazing football that only comes around once every four years so make sure you enjoy it!

The only thing bigger than the world cup this summer will be the transfer frenzy of signing the top performers.

By Malcolm Clarke