With Roy Hodgson about to name his England squad for the next two World Cup qualifyers, Saints fans will be hoping that there might be two of our players in the squad this time.

For the game against the Ukraine it was great to see Adam Lallana sat on the bench for his country, the only disapointment was that he didnt get on the pitch and become the first Saints player to win an England cap since Peter Crouch back in 2005.

Lallana however might not be holding his breath for another call up, in fairness he will know as much as anyone that it took a fair few drop outs for him to get the nod and unless there is that sort of injury list again, then he isnt likely to feature in the squad this time around.

However he will be content in the knowledge that he is in Roy Hodgson's thought and that he will of course have now worked with the England boss in training who hopefully will have been impressed by the way Lallana works and conducts himself both on and off the pitch, these games might just come at the wrong time for the Saints captain, but there will be other chances and i would expect him to get his chance in a friendly fixture if he continues to show what he can do in the Premier.

Another Saint that St Mary's fans will be hoping to see named is Rickie Lambert, however despite the fact that SRL is the joint top English scorer in the Premier League and has a fine start to the season, there is one key reason why I would be surprised to see him feature and that is age.

Rickie will be 31 in January and indeed 32 by the time the 2014 World Cup comes around, for this reason alone I would not expect him to be in Hodgson's plans, International managers cant buy in players like their League club counterparts, for that reason they have to look at what players are likely to be still able to cut it in not just the next game, but the next tournament.

Having said that Hodgson wouldnt be the first England manager to fail to plan, indeed look at the recent past when the manager of the International side kept picking David James for worthless friendlies and not blooding younger keepers meaning that when they were needed they were not experienced enough,  dont think that Hodgson will be that naive though.

So sadly for Rickie i dont expect him to be in this England squad, however if the England strikers misfire and Rickie keeps scoring into the New Year there could be a slight ray of hope for him.     

Photo: Action Images

SuperKelvin added 10:47 - Oct 3 Lamberts game has never been about pace so he can go on at the same level till his mid 30's at least. Compared to strikers like holt and graham who have been mentioned he is streets head in his overall play. Lallana isnt fast enough to play wide at international level, but Lambert could genuinely add something to England
0

simmo400 added 11:12 - Oct 3 Not playing for a fashionable club will only hurt Adam. Just look at Le Tiss. Your have to move Adam to be in englands plans im afraid. Similat to Danny Briggs of hampshire CC. loads of talent wronf club.
0

SaintNick added 11:17 - Oct 3 Lamberts game has never been about pace you are right, but at Premiership level its all about that and certainly at International level and this could hurt his chances more than anything
0

slynch added 11:29 - Oct 3 Hodgson's not gonna pick anyone from a team that has been second rate for years and never won anything, been appallingly run by a plethora of dodgy managers and the only way they get anywhere at all is to play dull boring defensive football..not for England, a proud, national team that has…er…….hang on a minute???
0

stmichael added 12:02 - Oct 3 Kevin Davies got a call up at 32. That should be Rickys inspiration. I believe he could make it impossible to ignore him. Even Saturday his vision to play Ramirez in second half showed ability not usually seen in traditional centre forwards. He is DIFFERENT class.
0

schatfield added 13:32 - Oct 3 I can't see Lambert playing for england, not cos he plays for saints or cos of his age - purely cos that type of centre forward is always overlooked these days. Just look at Holt who, when in rich scoring form, was never picked. Him and Lambert are very similar.
0

stmichael added 13:35 - Oct 3 Holt does not possess the touch or vision of Lambert. RL could actually play centre mid he has become that good. HOLT will be found out this season - infact he already has
0

REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 16:59 - Oct 3 I can't see Rickie getting a call up tomorrow. Hodgson tends to only pick four strikers in his squad. Rooney is back, Defoe is playing reguarly, Carroll is returning to fitness. Wellbeck will probably retain his place. Bent is starting to score again. Plus Sturridge would be in the mix if he was fit. I hate to say it as well, but Peter Crouch might be ahead of Lambert in the pecking order at the moment, with his current form and previous 22 goals for England. The biggest trouble for Lambert and England is Andy Carroll. Carroll is stronger and better in the air, has age on his side and he will only get better. Hodgson will be looking towards the 2014 World Cup and if he wants the option of a target man then he is more likely to go for the £35m Carroll. Lambert is a better finisher, and is better on the deck than Carroll but I don't think its enough sway Hodgson. Also, in my opinion, Lambert is a much much better all round player than Grant Holt!! As for Lallana. I'm not sure he'll get a call up either. His recent form hasn't been electric. At least with Southampton's 'easier' run of games coming up he'll have a better chance of showing what he can do.

0

Del_Bianco added 23:04 - Oct 3 Why has an article about Saints players being called up for England got a picture of Nick stood in the stands at Wembley?
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Colchester United Polls