Int. Friendly: England Vs Hungary

[milkman]

England v Hungary preview
A jury of 60,000 expected to voice World Cup disappointment

By Peter Fraser Last updated: 11th August 2010



Capello: Under pressure


This will in theory be a chance for England's next generation to show a bright future, but when Hungary arrive at Wembley for Wednesday's friendly there will be plenty of painful memories of the past.

Fabio Capello will send his team out in front of an expected jury of 60,000 for the first time since this summer's World Cup failure, when Germany ruthlessly removed the Italian's previously impenetrable aura in the wake of a miserable group campaign.

It is not going to be pleasant. The boo-boys are ready in force and, in an apparent bid to appease, players and manager alike have said that their followers will be right to voice their criticism - volunteering themselves for the stocks and offering the rancid tomatoes.

After avoiding the Football Association sack for the lifeless and stunted displays in South Africa, Capello was urged to axe many of his flops, who he claims are crippled by nerves and tiredness at international level.

The Golden Generation - John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard & Wayne Rooney et al - has proved to be somewhat of the Cursed Generation, with the theory claiming that the weight of media hype has created egos, expectations and over-confidence. But what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Embarrassment

Hungary's visit has therefore been billed as the chance to forget the World Cup and the time to move on, an opportunity for rising stars at club level who have not had and wasted their opening under previous international regimes.

'Generation' has been one of the prominent nouns in the fallout from South Africa and the gaze into the future. The arrival of Sandor Egervari's Hungary was thought to be a window for Capello to bring in his 'My Generation'.

But the 64-year-old stomping to the work of Townshend and Daltrey (people will certainly try to put him down) when he selected his latest squad seems an unlikely scenario as in the main only a handful of fringe players have been excluded.

Wes Brown and Paul Robinson recently embarrassed Capello by retiring from international football following their recalls to mean that the starting XI against Egervari's men looks set to follow a familiar pattern.

Bristol City's new No.1, David James, and West Ham's Rob Green have not been included to suggest that Joe Hart could stake a long-term claim as England's goalkeeper. That represents an intelligent alteration.

Chased shadows
But in defence it is likely that Glen Johnson, Cole and Terry, who were humiliated by Germany, will keep their places as the only change to that afternoon in Bloemfontein is likely to be the selection of Tottenham's Michael Dawson. Rio Ferdinand is still absent due to injury.

Despite the potential of Arsenal teenager Jack Wilshere, the midfield of James Milner, Lampard, Gareth Barry and captain Gerrard, who could not find the creativity to breakdown Algeria and chased the shadows of Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller, are also likely to start.

Striker Rooney will have a major point to prove after failing to score at the World Cup, having found 26 Premier League goals in 2009/10, but his partner is likely to provide the most significant shift in Capello's stubborn mindset.

With Emile Heskey retired, Peter Crouch overlooked and Darren Bent withdrawn through injury, Fulham's Bobby Zamora is expected to start and end his long wait for senior international recognition after he missed the World Cup due to an Achilles operation.

The Hungary line-up will include the familiar faces of Zamora's club team-mate Zoltan Gera, Ipswich's Tamas Priskin and new Portman Road signing Marton Fulop.

Possible starting XIs:
England: Hart, Johnson, Dawson, Terry, A.Cole, Milner, Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, Rooney, Zamora.

Hungary: Fulop, Szelesi, Juhasz, Vanczak, Elek, Rudolf, Huszti, Vadocz, Dzsudzsak, Gera, Priskin.

http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3281702,00.html


I'll be watching this mainly because of the very different line up.

 

[TheChosenOne]

I don't think I'll bother - ITV and Clive T don't appeal to me after that rubbish in the summer.

 

[Azazello]

The (granted) possible line-up looks like [sarcasm] Capello really wants to try new things, especially in midfield. He'll learn loads from this match. [/sarcasm]

I'll keep an eye on the score but otherwise think it's a pointless exercise.

 

[DiscoD1882]

unfortunatley I am going.........Free tickets. Shant be booing though as the media have clearly been brainwashing everyone to do..... Ok maybe Terry

 

[KalSpur]

Hope Dawson gets his long overdue first game for England... and starts!

 

[thinktank]

Don't care about England. Waste of time.

 

[cnyy12]

I hope that reserve keeper from Blackburn gets in the game. Really badly, actually.

He wouldn't have looked too out of place for England in South Africa given how they played.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

this tonight is it?

*yawn*

If Sky still did the playercam thing, i'd possibly tune in and use it for the first time ever if Dawson was playing but, honestly, there is no passion left in the England side and whilst it's being managed by a man who looks like he could easily be the father of Angelos Epithemiou from Shooting Stars, i doubt there will be.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Hope Dawson gets his long overdue first game for England... and starts!

I hope he's nowhere near the starting XI. I hope he doesn't play a second.

And different lineup? It'll be exactly the same but maybe a new keeper and a 'new' striker.

Capello has kept all the players who have underachieved for the last four years and just shuffled the fringe players. Pointless.

 

[Pringle]

Capello has already said the first half team will be made up of the squad from south africa so it will be:

Hart
Johnson
Dawson
Terry
Cole
Gerrard
Barry
Lampard
Milner
Rooney
+1

I guess this is a chance for them to face up and see if they can put in a good performance together. After half time all of the squad players will come on (if there is any left?)

 

[3Dnata]

Get's a yawn from me too.
I can't get all this booing publicity. If people pay to turn up at Wembley I'd think they'd probably want to watch England.
Much as I'd like to stone Gerrard, Rooney and Terry I don't think they'll get a bad reception, one lives in hope though.

 

[milkman]

Tickets still on sale, cheapest ones are £30 up in the gods. Eek

 

[ShayLaB]

No Dawson.

It's virtually the same as before.

Slightly shocked.

 

[teddy_sheringham_125]

What a pointless exercise. First, Capello picks a squad which is the exact opposite of what it should be, i.e. he picks the 1st team from the WC and drops the fringe players, and he picks youngsters who have hardly even played in the EPL as opposed to youngsters who have established themselves or any player that has been in great form. Second, he now picks basically the same line up as the WC in a pointless friendly, mere weeks after the same group of players failed dramatically to perform. Does somebody want to buy this guy a clue, since managing England has clearly caused Capello to lose his marbles.

 

[kernowspur]

Really boring selection, Gerrard, Lampard and Barry again. Three of the back 4 unchanged. Yawn!!

 

[jondesouza]

Can't believe Daws doesn't start. What does the guy have to do? Makes me think Capello just doesn't fancy him.

 

[mpickard2087]

Rubbish team. This is not a team for the future.

Cashley, Terry, Barry, Lampard and Gerrard will all be at least 33 when the next world cup starts, some of these will surely not make it that far (Eg Lampard will be 36). They have also repeatedly bottled it at tournament after tournament. Capello himself has said they dont have the mentality to win anything, so why do we persist?

 

[NickHSpurs]

Yeah also underwhelmed by the selection, wanted to see some new faces

 

[Mullers]

Rubbish team. This is not a team for the future.

Cashley, Terry, Barry, Lampard and Gerrard will all be at least 33 when the next world cup starts, some of these will surely not make it that far (Eg Lampard will be 36). They have also repeatedly bottled it at tournament after tournament. Capello himself has said they dont have the mentality to win anything, so why do we persist?

Because right now they are the best we have and we still have to qualify for the Euros, so its foly to abandon them completely.

 

[thinktank]

Wow, Hungarian anthem...fit for a funeral.