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Should the England team be built around Liverpool quintet?

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lIV-5Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling are all, almost certainly, going to the World Cup.

If they do, Liverpool will be the most represented club in the England team. Gerrard is a certainty as Captain. Daniel Sturridge, with an incredible 32 goals in 39 appearances (at the time of writing) since joining Liverpool, is also a cert, even if he is still unproven at international level. Glen Johnson, injury permitting, will also travel and hope to use his 49 caps for his country to perform better in this World Cup than he did in the last.

There has been much discussion regarding Henderson and Sterling’s rise to prominence in the Liverpool team. Sterling has only just got back into the recently announced England squad, having spent time back in England Under 21s following his debut way back in November 2012, While there is still debate regarding their inclusion in the England set up, surely it would be more surprising if they weren’t included in Roy Hodgson’s final 23 than if they were.

In the recently broadcast “Footballer’s Football show” on Sky Sports, which had Roy Hodgson and Gary Neville amongst the guests, Neville chose to highlight Jordan Henderson as a player that had impressed since Euro 2012, not just in the previous few months, not least due to his attitude and approach to learning and continuous improvement.

And Raheem on present form is easily the best winger in the country. Even in Liverpool’s draws against Aston Villa and West Brom this year, when a number of the bigger names were off their game, Raheem Sterling was still effervescent, and Liverpool’s best chance of creating a winning goal. With Theo Walcott’s injury, Andros Townsend struggling to get minutes for Tottenham and Aaron Lennon inconsistent for Spurs, Raheem must surely be in the drivers seat for Brazil.

While Martin Kelly sneaked into the Euro 2012 squad, based on his presence in previous squads of Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson’s familiarity with his ability, Jon Flanagan has been mooted as a possible left field inclusion for Brazil. With his all action performances both at left back and right back he has caught the eye in a number of performances.

However, in my opinion, he is not ready for this step up, and would be better served developing his game in the Under 21s. Flanno can still be inconsistent and his technical ability needs improvement if he is to deserve International recognition. Ahead of him at right back for England would be Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker, who are both certainties for Brazil, while the left back spot has Leighton Baines as a certainty.

There could be an opportunity as a backup player in that spot, but Ashley Cole, despite barely playing this season, would be a more experienced understudy and Hodgson’s decision to pick the uncapped Luke Shaw for his upcoming 30 man squad is a clear indication that Flanagan will have to wait for his first England cap.

Perhaps the most interesting question is not whether these five Liverpool players travel but whether they will all start and in what system. Hodgson was regularly playing Gerrard in a deep lying midfielder role before Rodgers decided to do so. At full back Glen Johnson has a fight on his hands to regain the first choice right back spot presently occupied by Kyle Walker. Against the quality of Italy and Uruguay it is difficult to imagine England playing just two midfielders, so in a midfield trio would Hodgson choose to go with the energy of Henderson to complement the differing qualities of Gerrard and Jack Wilshere?

If England play a midfield three, they will have to play one up top with two wide. In such a system Sturridge may be chosen to play wide, or central with Rooney out wide, but that still leaves one open space on the wing. Hodgson has generally been conservative and gone for a reliable choice out wide, for example by using James Milner, but if England are chasing the game Sterling may well get a chance to impress. When Owen broke on the scene he started the World Cup on the bench, but impressed coming off it and forced his way into the side.

Regardless of England’s performance at the forthcoming World Cup, Liverpool fans can feel rightly proud that we now have a quintet of Englishmen at International level, and the experiences and confidence they gain from representing their country should hopefully help further improve their performances for the Reds.

You can catch more from me on my own blog: http://taintlessred.blogspot.co.uk/

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Gabriel Darshan (Writer) - aka Sutha Nirmalananthan aka TaintlessRed. I am a lifelong Liverpool fan who has followed the Reds from near (e.g. living in Kirkby) and far (e.g. living in Johannesburg), though am again living back home in the UK. I’ve watched football in stadia all around the world, from the Maracana to the Camp Nou, though Anfield will of course always be the greatest! I enjoy healthy football debate, preferring reasoned analysis based on sound evidence over gossip. I also write a blog at http://taintlessred.blogspot.co.uk/ on all things Liverpool FC and you can follow me on twitter @taintlessred

2 comments

  • stevie says:

    As a proud englishman it’s good to see us helping the national team. Wait a few years and we’ll have more in the england team. Ibe and rossiter to name but two

  • Stevie Yanna says:

    Agree except the aging Gerrard.

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