England 2014 World Cup Squad Announced: Wilshere, Barkley Picked In Youthful Squad

England boss Roy Hodgson has named his 23-man squad for this summers World Cup finals in Brazil and as expected, he’s gone for a mixture of youth and experience.

The big news last night was that Chelsea veteran Ashley Cole announced his retirement from international football after being told by Hodgson that he wasn’t in his final 23, with the Three Lions boss opting to go with Southampton youngster Luke Shaw as back-up to Everton’s Leighton Baines.

Arsenal duo Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both included despite not being 100% match fit after recent injuries, while Everton’s Phil Jagielka is also included despite just recovering from a hamstring injury.

Manchester United have four representatives in the 23 with Phil Jones joining team mates Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Danny Welbeck in the squad despite currently being on the sidelines after shoulder surgery.

 Southampton’s Adan Lallana and Rickie Lambert are rewarded for fine seasons while Liverpool have five players in the squad, with Raheem Sterling, Glen Johnson, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge joining skipper Steven Gerrard in the 23.

John Terry and Ashley Cole may not be involved, but Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard brings some experience to the squad along with team mate Gary Cahill.

Here is the full squad:

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart (Man City), Ben Foster (WBA), Frazer Forster (Celtic).

Defenders

Leighton Baines (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton) Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool),Phil Jones (Man Utd), Chris Smalling (Man Utd) Luke Shaw (Soton)

Midfielders

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ross Barkley (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Soton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Man City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

Strikers

Rickie Lambert (Soton), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd)

The seven players named on the stand-by list are:

Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Andy Carroll (West Ham), Tom Cleverley (Man Utd), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Ruddy (Norwich), John Stones (Everton).

It’s certainly a well-balanced squad with Hodgson going for a mix of old and new, but it’s a huge risk to pick the inexperienced Luke Shaw over Ashley Cole – who has over 100 caps – while Manchester United’s Michael Carrick will also be disappointed to miss out.

It’s interesting to see how this squad announcement has affected the England world cup betting odds. So far, England have drifted slightly with some bookmakers now offering best odds of 33/1. These odds are similar to teams like Portugal, Columbia, Holland and Uruguay, so we’re certainly not rated among the favourites to win the tournament at this point.

It’s fair to say with this youthful and inexperienced squad England are outsiders for the 2014 World Cup and are probably planning for the future in order to give the young players vital tournament experience ahead of the 2016 European championships and the 2018 World Cup.

What do you think of the squad? Who would you have picked? Share your thoughts below.