Which strikers should go to South Africa?

By Mark Denton | 19th February 2010

Which strikers should go to South Africa? | read this item

With the Premiership season quietly creeping towards March and the latter stages of the season, some wandering eyes will be eyeing the prize in South Africa over the summer. For many teams there is still much to play for in one of the most exciting seasons for years, and even more so for any of the English nationals in with a sniff of a place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.

Putting aside the John Terry/Wayne Bridge/Ashley Cole fiasco, I’ve decided to take a look at one of the major concerns of the England team: its strikeforce.

To me, there is only one guaranteed forward position, and that is for Wayne Rooney. Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, and Peter Crouch will surely be in the mix, but what about the other contenders?

Darren Bent has had a decent season over at Sunderland, in a somewhat struggling team. Bobby Zamora has banged the goals in over at Craven Cottage, and Gabriel Agbonlahor has posed a threat every time he has played for Villa. But are these three Premiership forwards good enough to mix it up with the likes of Messi, Eto’o, and Ronaldo at the World Cup?

It could be argued that none of the other possible contenders are suitable for the big stage. Defoe has been an England regular for the past number of years, but has yet to prove it on the big stage. The inclusion of Walcott over him in the last World Cup was the wrong decision, and thankfully Capello is too clever not to repeat the same mistake.

Crouch has one World Cup under his belt, but is often targeted by referees due to his sheer height drawing attention to himself – another problem which could hinder England’s attacking options. Emile Heskey, unlike Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, and Bobby Zamora, has not had regular first team football and therefore has not scored enough goals. However, he is not an out-and-out striker like the others, and it seems that Capello has something of a soft spot for the big man.

These options somewhat lead to the debate over the inclusion of one Michael Owen. The Manchester United forward who, like Heskey, has not had his fair share of Premier League playing time this season. However, he has scored key goals and has the experience of playing on the big stage, unlike the majority of the other England strikers. Surely if a chance fell the way of the ex-England number 10 he would be the most likely to stick it in the net?

The inclusion of Owen may be a risk worth taking. He has always classed himself as an England player above a club player, though including him in the squad may bear down more to sentiment rather than lateral thinking.

Whoever does get picked by Capello needs to remember the weight of expectation on them from the nation. They will need to be level headed, calm, and be able to deal with the pressure of the eyes of the world on them. If any of the contenders can handle this pressure in the right way, then they are definitely worth a place on the plane to South Africa in June.

Who do you think should get the nod for South Africa? Have your say below!

Mike Diamente says:

February 21, 2010 at 2:33 pm

Wayne Rooney and Defoe starters and Agbonlahor off the bench….

i also feel like carlton cole would have gotten a look if he played for a bigger club

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Which strikers should go to South Africa?

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