England vs Egypt Preview
England’s preparations for this summer’s World Cup begin this week when they host Egypt in a friendly at Wembley. Fabio Capello only has a few warm-up games to prepare for England’s opening group C fixture against Slovenia on June 23, and this week’s friendly will provide an opportunity for England’s stars to cement their places in the starting line-up for that match.
There are a few positions in Capello’s first choice eleven which remain up for grabs.
It will be particularly interesting to see if David James is handed his first international start in almost a year.
James was widely thought to be Capello’s first choice goalkeeper until a string of injuries limited his international chances to just one substitute appearance this season.
However, the Pompey keeper has been in tremendous form since returning for his club and will relish the chance to prove himself as England’s number one once again.
The news of Ashley Cole’s broken ankle was a real blow for England fans and it remains unclear whether the Chelsea star will be fit for the beginning of this summer’s tournament.
Wayne Bridge and Stephen Warnock are both in the frame to take over from Cole at left-back next week and will each be hoping for the chance to impress the England manager against the African Nation Champions.
Another area of interest is which striker will be chosen to partner Wayne Rooney at the head of England’s attack.
Jermaine Defoe continues to bang in the goals for Tottenham but Capello still seems to prefer Emile Heskey as a foil for the Manchester United star.
The game would have been Rio Ferdinand’s first since taking over as England skipper earlier this month, but injury again rules him out with Steven Gerrard being given the armband.
Ferdinand’s form at international level has been shaky in recent times so he would have been hoping for the opportunity to produce a solid performance leading England’s back-line as captain.
England’s opponents were desperately unlucky not to qualify for this year’s finals themselves.
Egypt finished with an identical record to Algeria at the top of their qualifying group but lost their tiebreak play-off 1-0 last November.
They remain one of the strongest African teams and will provide a stern test for Capello’s side.
They have few household names with most of their squad hailing from the Egyptian league but have maintained a strong work ethic under manager Head Coach Hassan Shehata.
Hull City striker Amir Zaki and West Ham forward Mido have been on the fringes of the squad of late but were both overlooked for this year’s African Cup Of Nations Tournament.
Joe Elvin
