England squad at Euro 2004

England

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No left-sided midfielder, Owen is injury prone, Rooney is inexperienced, Scholes is off form, Beckham's private life is under scrutiny, Ferdinand is suspended and two other central defenders are injured. It is easy to be pessimistic about England's chances, but then again, there is a lot to be positive about. Much, as always, will depend on luck, but England definitely have the ability to go all the way. There are no real weak links in the first eleven, but when the injuries and suspensions inevitably mount up, England's lack of strength in depth will become apparent. However, they have an embarrassement of riches in the midfield department and a sound goalkeeper. There's not much cover up front or in defence but if Owen can stay fit, who knows what is possible?

Squad

Coach: Sven Goran Eriksson

Goalkeepers:
1. David James (Man City),
13. Paul Robinson (Tottenham),
22. Ian Walker (Leicester)
Defenders:
2. Gary Neville (Man Utd),
3. Ashley Cole (Arsenal),
5. John Terry (Chelsea),
6. Sol Campbell (Arsenal),
12. Wayne Bridge (Chelsea),
14. Phil Neville (Man Utd),
15. Ledley King (Tottenham),
16. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool).
Midfielders:
4. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool|),
7. David Beckham (Real Madrid),
8. Paul Scholes (Man Utd),
11. Frank Lampard (Chelsea),
17. Nicky Butt (Man Utd),
18. Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich),
19. Joe Cole (Chelsea),
20. Kieron Dyer (Newcastle)
Forwards:
9. Wayne Rooney (Everton),
10. Michael Owen (Liverpool),
21. Emile Heskey (Liverpool),
23. Darius Vassell (Aston Villa).

Star Player

It has been an interesting 12 months for David Beckham. England's captain became the latest galactico when he made his multimillion pound move to Real Madrid and he started the season in fine form. But his star has waned slightly in 2004 with tabloid revelations about his private life and a drop in form combined with Real's failure to win either the league or Champions League.

Hopefully for England fans he'll remain the inspirational leader he has always been in the national team. He is an integral part of one of the best midfields in the tournament and it's finally time for this generation to come of age. This summer and Germany in two years time may be his last chances to gain top international honours.

Key Man

If England manage to make the later stages of Euro 2004 then you can rest assured that Wayne Rooney will have played a major part. The 18 year old is England's only real top quality goal scorer after Michael Owen and he has the ability to perform at the highest level given the chance.

Whether used as a substitute or in the starting line-up, he'll benefit from playing alongside experienced, top-class players and still has enough of the 'unknown quantity' about him to really frighten oppostion defenders. His performances could make the difference between England being also-rans and real contenders in Portugal.

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