Captain: Steven Gerrard will lead England, despite only representing his country for 33 minutes in the last 19 months

The selection of Gerrard as captain is a sound one, even if Ferdinand might wish to point to the fact that the Liverpool midfielder has played only 33 minutes of international football in 19 months.

Beyond Terry, beyond Gerrard, there are some interesting selections. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain amounts to a bold decision but a welcome one too.

The squad does, however, highlight that these were not rich pickings for Hodgson when six or seven of the players selected would not be first picks at their clubs.

Of the players he would probably start with against France, only Jack Wilshere and Kyle Walker are missing because of injury. But it is hard to argue against the choices he has made. It just smacks of a lack of quality in certain areas.

‘It is a squad I believe in and I squad I have faith in,’ he said. It’s a good squad in the circumstances, with one exception.

« Previous12345Next »