Squad for Kazakhstan and Andorra

S Carson (West Brom); R Green (West Ham); P Robinson (Blackburn); W Bridge (Man City), A Cole (Chelsea), R Ferdinand (Man Utd), G Johnson (Portsmouth), J Lescott (Everton), G Neville (Man Utd), J Terry (Chelsea), M Upson (West Ham); G Barry (Aston Villa), D Beckham (LA Galaxy), M Carrick (Man Utd), S Gerrard (Liverpool), F Lampard (Chelsea), T Walcott (Arsenal), S Wright-Phillips (Man City), A Young (Aston Villa); C Cole (West Ham), P Crouch (Portsmouth), J Defoe (Tottenham), E Heskey (Aston Villa), W Rooney (Man Utd).

David James is out due to a shoulder operation. The big surprise is the recall of Gary Neville. To be honest, this blogger felt that Neville’s international career was probabaly over. A fine fullback there is no doubt with an illustrious career. Seeing Neville recently interviewed by Gabby Logan and with Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville said that recovery from matches was getting harder, and the matches that he played in were tough for him physically. Good luck to Gary, and certainly he deserves a recall for the effective service he has given the national team over the years. Nonetheless, the trip to South Africa might be beyond his reach.
Otherwise no real surprises to the squad, 24 places and five forwards.