Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Walcott left out of England squad

Theo Walcott
Walcott - shock inclusion in 2006, shock omission in 2010

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is the surprise omission from England's 23-man World Cup squad, BBC Sport understands.

Walcott, 21, was in the provisional squad of 30 and started both of England's recent friendly victories against Mexico and Japan.

But Chelsea's Joe Cole has been included in the final squad, which flies to South Africa on Wednesday.

Gareth Barry had a fitness test on his injured ankle on Tuesday morning, with initial reports sounding favourable.

The Manchester City midfielder has not played since he picked up a ligament injury in a Premier League match against Tottenham on 5 May.

Walcott was a shock inclusion in former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's 2006 World Cup squad but did not feature in the tournament and the then-17-year-old's inclusion was widely criticised.

606: DEBATE

The right winger has since won 11 caps, with all three of his international goals coming in a 4-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Croatia in Zagreb on 10 September 2008.

Joe Cole is now fully fit after a serious knee ligament injury and produced an impressive second-half cameo during Sunday's 2-1 win against Japan.

After that match, Cole said: "I think I did all right. These games are never easy - you don't want to get injured and there were some tackles flying in.

"I've had a good 10 days training and a good 45 minutes. I just want to help England win the World Cup."

The World Cup begins on 11 June, with England's first game coming a day later against the United States in Rustenburg.

More to follow.

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Watch highlights of England's World Cup qualifying campaign

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