Brown retirement compounds Capello’s England misery
Published:Fabio Capello’s task of healing the wounds of a disastrous World Cup campaign is becoming increasingly difficult, as Wes Brown is the latest player to shun an England recall.
Paul Robinson retired from international football on Saturday night having won his first call-up since 2007, and now Manchester United defender Brown has followed suit.
England are a convincing 3/10 to beat Hungary in Wednesday’s friendly, but their preparations have been disrupted by these withdrawals.
Tension has been rife in the England camp since divisions emerged among players and staff at the World Cup, culminating in a press conference where John Terry spoke of a supposed player revolt.
There was little support for Terry’s claim, however, as the centre-back seemed to lose the respect of his team-mates after been stripped of the captaincy.
It is the apparent lack of faith in Capello, however, which seems to be causing most strife for the FA at the moment.
In the last year alone, Wayne Bridge, Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher have all called time on their international careers, while Paul Scholes has rejected the chance to rejoin the England set-up.
The match against Hungary at least represents a fresh start, though, with players such as Bobby Zamora, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere winning their first senior call-ups.
And among the players reintroduced into the England fold, Darren Bent will be one of the players itching to make up for his World Cup omission. He is 5/1 to open the scoring against Hungary.
With French coach Laurent Blanc choosing a squad free of any World Cup players for his side’s friendly with Norway, Capello’s experimentation is conservative in comparison.
Of the players retained from the dismal campaign in South Africa, Wayne Rooney will be desperate to shake off his lacklustre tournament with the first goal against Hungary, which he is 7/2 to score.
How do you think England will do? They are 5/1 to win 2-0. See the full England vs Hungary Match Betting Odds market.
