Bent out for England, Ferdinand back as captain
Source: Agencies |
October 12, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
INJURY-HIT England suffered another setback yesterday when striker Darren Bent pulled out of its Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro with a groin problem.
The Sunderland forward, who scored his first international goal against Switzerland last month, was the fourth player to withdraw from the squad through injury after Aaron Lennon, Phil Jagielka and John Terry.
Manager Fabio Capello, though, looked in relaxed mood at a news conference yesterday, re-arranging the tape recorders in front of him and joking "four, four, two" as he positioned them.
Peter Crouch will replace Bent alongside Wayne Rooney in attack and central defender Rio Ferdinand, playing his first competitive international for a year, will captain the side, taking the armband back from Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.
"Bent is out, he can't play and Crouch will play instead. There are enough options in the squad and he can play up with Rooney," Capello said.
Bent's injury also increased the chances of a debut off the bench for surprise call-up Kevin Davies who is 33.
Ferdinand lost the captaincy when he pulled out of the World Cup squad due to injury.
"He was always going to come back as captain when he was fit," Capello said.
"I told Steve he was a fantastic captain and that he had to play like the captain tomorrow.
But Rio was always going to come back as the captain when he was fit.
"I have watched Rio during training in the last few days and he is totally fit, he has played every game better and he is now at 100 percent."
England players unusually trained at Wembley on Monday morning, rather than Arsenal's training ground of London Colney, and went through their paces in glorious autumnal sunshine.
The pitch, severely criticized by Capello and others last season, looked in superb condition for the match, the first between the two countries.
Montenegro leads Group G having won its first three matches. England also boasts a perfect start with victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Capello said England must keep a close eye on Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic, who celebrated his winning goal against Switzerland on Friday by putting his shorts on his head.
Vucinic, who plays for AS Roma, is well known to Capello from his days in Italy.
"He is very dangerous," Capello said. "He is their diamond flower."
The Sunderland forward, who scored his first international goal against Switzerland last month, was the fourth player to withdraw from the squad through injury after Aaron Lennon, Phil Jagielka and John Terry.
Manager Fabio Capello, though, looked in relaxed mood at a news conference yesterday, re-arranging the tape recorders in front of him and joking "four, four, two" as he positioned them.
Peter Crouch will replace Bent alongside Wayne Rooney in attack and central defender Rio Ferdinand, playing his first competitive international for a year, will captain the side, taking the armband back from Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.
"Bent is out, he can't play and Crouch will play instead. There are enough options in the squad and he can play up with Rooney," Capello said.
Bent's injury also increased the chances of a debut off the bench for surprise call-up Kevin Davies who is 33.
Ferdinand lost the captaincy when he pulled out of the World Cup squad due to injury.
"He was always going to come back as captain when he was fit," Capello said.
"I told Steve he was a fantastic captain and that he had to play like the captain tomorrow.
But Rio was always going to come back as the captain when he was fit.
"I have watched Rio during training in the last few days and he is totally fit, he has played every game better and he is now at 100 percent."
England players unusually trained at Wembley on Monday morning, rather than Arsenal's training ground of London Colney, and went through their paces in glorious autumnal sunshine.
The pitch, severely criticized by Capello and others last season, looked in superb condition for the match, the first between the two countries.
Montenegro leads Group G having won its first three matches. England also boasts a perfect start with victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Capello said England must keep a close eye on Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic, who celebrated his winning goal against Switzerland on Friday by putting his shorts on his head.
Vucinic, who plays for AS Roma, is well known to Capello from his days in Italy.
"He is very dangerous," Capello said. "He is their diamond flower."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
