London, June 02: Theo Walcott has been left shell-shocked after the England manager Fabio Capello axed him from his 23-man World Cup squad.
The Arsenal winger has always said that he could not take his place at the finals for granted, but he did not see Capello’s rejection coming. The 21-year-old, the surprise inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad for the last World Cup in Germany, has been left devastated.
Capello had said that he could not find room for Walcott, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips in his party, and that it would have to be two from the three. It now appears Wright-Phillips has forced his way in. The Manchester City winger has the versatility to also play on the left.
Walcott has endured a stop-start season because of a seemingly never-ending run of injuries but he felt that he had finally found his form. His hopes that he would be on the plane were raised when he started in the friendlies against Mexico and Japan but now he must begin to come to terms with the role of spectator.
The team:
Goalkeepers: David James, Robert Green, Joe Hart.
Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe
—Agencies