
A bit of a surprise in Fabio Capello’s 23 man roster that will face Andorra and Croatia in World Cup Qualifiers was the first time inclusion of Fulham’s 29 year old midfielder Jimmy Bullard.
Bullard’s inclusion into the Full National Team completes a remarkable recovery from a career-threatening ACL injury that he suffered almost exactly two years ago and was out injured for 15 months before returning to play a crucial part in Fulham’s Premier League survival last season.
Capello has left out Michael Owen, Peter Crouch and Jonathan Woodgate while Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard will miss out due to injury.
England play Andorra in Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening (September 6th) and then travel to Zagreb for their second qualifier against Croatia on Wednesday, 10 September.
Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson (Blackburn), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham)Defenders: Joleon Lescott (Everton), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Matthew Upson (West Ham)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), David Bentley (Tottenham), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham)
Forwards: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan).
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