Eriksson names experimental squad
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Article summary
England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has picked a youthful squad for the friendly with Australia.
Article body
England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has named an experimental 27-man squad for Wednesday’s friendly international with Australia at Upton Park.
Rooney set to make history
The squad includes a number of new faces and has a youthful look to it, with 17-year-old striker Wayne Rooney of Everton FC included for the first time and looking set to become the youngest player ever to represent England at international level.
New faces
Central defender Matthew Upson, who recently left Arsenal FC to join Birmingham City FC, also features for the first time, while the midfield players include 19-year-old Jermaine Jenas of UEFA Champions League contenders Newcastle United FC, Sean Davis of Fulham FC and Charlton Athletic FC pair Paul Konchesky and Scott Parker.
Striking options
Striker James Beattie of Southampton FC, who has scored 16 goals so far this season, is rewarded with his first chance at international level, while Arsenal FC’s Francis Jeffers is also included.
Extensive changes
Eriksson is set to field what would effectively be two different sides during the Australia game, and announced his intention to make up to eleven changes in the match. “"It's going to be a first team and then an extremely young team for the future," Eriksson said. "In the second half, there'll be a very young team. One player will be 25 years old; all the others will be under 25.”
‘Interesting team’
Eriksson has decided to limit the use of his first-choice players to 45 minutes in the warm-up match for England's UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers in Liechtenstein on March 29 and at home to Turkey at Sunderland's Stadium of Light on 2 April. "As long as it's a friendly I think we shouldn't play the players more than 45 minutes. I know it might be a problem for the public, for the FA maybe, but you'll see a very interesting team in the second half. I hope that the public will appreciate that,” Eriksson said.
England squad
Wright, James, Robinson, G Neville, Ferdinand, Campbell, Cole, Mills, Upson, Brown, King, Beckham, Scholes, Hargreaves, Dyer, Murphy, Lampard, Jenas, Konchesky, Parker, Davis, Cole, Owen, Vassell, Beattie, Rooney, Jeffers.
