A glimpse into the future of England
The recent headline news about the huge centre of excellence for English Football got me thinking. What sort of squad can we expect, not in Brazil 2014 but in Russia 2018?
In an attempt to design a roughly educated guess I set down the ground rule that apart from the goalkeeper, every player will have to be under the age of 24. That way they will still be at a good age to play in six years time.
In goal the only real candidate is Manchester City and England’s current keeper, Joe Hart. Joe will be 31 in time for Russia and this is a prime age for a Goalkeeper, especially one that already shows as much promise as Joe.
My back four is as follows; Spurs’ Kyle Walker at right back, Man U’s pairing of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling at centre back and Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs at left back. Gibbs has established himself as a key member of the Arsenal back line this season as has Kyle Walker for Tottenham.
In the midfield we have Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the wings. Raheem has burst onto the seen with Liverpool this season, and Chamberlain is widely regarded as the most exciting young English player currently in the set-up. Another of the great young players Jack Wilshere will be joined by Manchester United’s Tom Cleverly in the core of the midfield.
The choice up front could be regarded as a controversial one but I have chosen to go with Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck. Although the story in the headlines at the moment is that Theo can’t get a game up front for his club, I believe he has the potential and we could see him up front in the future.
To emphasise the strength and depth we have as a nation I have selected a subs bench of seven that fit my criteria and who I believe to be good enough. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it clearly shows that as a nation we have a lot to be excited about.
Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jack Rodwell (Manchester City), Andy Carroll (West Ham United)
Tom DiMaio
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