Shaw, Sterling Inclusions Are Deserved, but England Template Was Set vs. Poland

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at Internationaled.org

Published: February 27, 2014

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As Roy Hodgson admitted upon revealing his England squad to face Denmark next week, Southampton left-back Luke Shaw was never going to be kept off the 30-man list.

“Anyone who has watched him play would not deny he deserves a place,” remarked the Three Lions boss, per the BBC.



He might have used an identical reply if asked about Cardiff City defender Steven Caulker, Liverpool attacker Raheem Sterling and Saints forward Jay Rodriguez, each of whom will join Shaw in the England setup despite only a single senior cap apiece.

Not that any of them should have been left with their clubs while their country contested one of four matches that will serve as its World Cup preparation schedule.

Quite the contrary.



All four were called up because their play merited inclusion, and if Hodgson’s starting lineup to face the Danes is to be picked solely on recent form the entire quartet should be playing from the start at Wembley on Wednesday.

But that’s not how international football works, and if Hodgson acknowledges the template of his team is already set he’ll have that much more of a leg up on his opposition in Brazil during the summer.

Teams that go into major tournaments with a mostly predetermined starting XI give themselves a head start, and as far as England are concerned the victories against Montenegro and Poland that ensured their participation in the World Cup did much to get that process underway.

The upcoming set of friendlies should be used merely to tweak what worked against their Group H rivals rather than to experiment.



In other words, Shaw, Caulker, Sterling and Rodriguez should be handed cameo appearances at the most, and at this point—with their Manaus encounter with Italy less than four months away—simply being in the setup and around some seasoned internationals might have...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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