LONDON - Jimmy Bullard has been handed a shock England World Cup call-up as coach Fabio Capello looks to begin the road to South Africa by beating Andorra and Croatia.
The 29-year-old has barely earned a mention as a potential candidate for Capello’s squad, even after the loss of Steven Gerrard, who accompanied Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick onto the injured list.
But Bullard has found favour following an excellent start to the season, following his influential role in keeping the Cottagers up last term.
Capello is presumably banking on Bullard’s experience helping him overcome any nerves at his first call-up and the Londoner’s chirpy character should certainly help in the England dressing room.
However, Capello gave an indication Owen would miss out.
“Owen is a good player and always scores a lot of goals for England,” Capello said on
Wednesday before adding: “But he has not played and at this moment, we need fit players.”
Whether Capello can afford to be without Owen, one of only four players to score 40 goals for England, is a debatable point, if not for the meeting with Andorra in Barcelona on Saturday, then certainly for the crunch clash against Croatia in Zagreb four days later.
Instead, Capello has stuck with the four strikers from the squad that earned mixed reviews for their performance in the draw against the Czech Republic at Wembley on August 20.
–Capello will be hoping to avoid the kind of abuse Steve McClaren endured at the same venue 18 months ago, when Gerrard’s double and a late David Nugent effort staved off total humiliation against the part-timers after a goalless first-half.
–England squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia on September 6 and September 10: Robinson (Blackburn), James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham); Lescott (Everton), Bridge (Chelsea), A Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Brown (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Johnson (Portsmouth), Upson (West Ham); Barry (Aston Villa), J Cole (Chelsea), Lampard (Chelsea), Bullard (Fulham), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Downing (Middlesbrough), Bentley (Tottenham), Jenas (Tottenham); Walcott (Arsenal), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Portsmouth), Heskey (Wigan).
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