England confirm two more friendly matches as expected

It’s been no real big suprise, but England have confirmed the bookings of two friendlies before the World Cup, both of which will take place at the end of May. After successfully coming from behind to beat tough African Cup of Nations Champions Egypt, England now have to wait almost three months until they get back into action again. The friendly against Egypt was a stern test for Fabio Capello, and provided a little insight into what may happen if the likes of Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand aren’t fit on time. The English side looked a little disjointed, especially in the midfield, with none of the starting midfielders in any kind of form for their clubs. Showing his tactical nous once again, boss Capello turned the match around with substitutions that helped the home side come from behind in front of the Wembley crowd.

How much this will have helped Capello with regards to fine tuning his final squad to be named on June 1, remains to be seen, but certainly Peter Crouch, who hit the back of the net twice, did himself no harm at all. Capello has said that he will be unlikely to take players who are not playing regularly for their clubs, and that is the situation in which Crouch finds himself. His record for England though, speaks for itself, and with Defoe and Rooney failing to have scored a goal between them when they have started for England, there are questions over Defoe’s value as main strike partner.

The next friendly for England will be against Mexico, followed by Japan as part of England’s pre-tournament preparations at a training camp in Austria. The fixture against Mexico should be around May 23rd, with the Japan game on May 30th. The other important dates to watch out for during England’s build up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is May 17 (the day after the FA Cup final) when the England boss name his provisional squad ahead of the two friendly matches. England head to the first training camp in Austria on May 18th. There is also the small matter of the Champions Legue final on May 22, which some of England’s key players could be a part of, and that being the case, they would join up with the squad later.

Capello looks to be meticulous in his preparations, and is preparing his squad the way he wants to. He has hand picked the friendly matches, and the training camps in Austria will allow the players to train in higher altitudes, similar to what they will find in South Africa. England’s first World Cup match in June 12th against the USA in Rustenburg, which is where England will be based for their length of stay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Current World Cup Outright Odds
Spain: 9/2 at Bet365
Brazil: 5/1 at Blue Square
England: 6/1 at Bwin
Argentina: 21/2 at BetFair
Italy: 13/1 at Expekt