Joe Cole for England

Fabio Capello is waiting to hear who England’s opponents will be at next year’s World Cup and once the draw is made, he will return to his biggest task at the moment, picking England World Cup squad. The Italian is unlikely to make too many changes to the squad that played in the qualifying campaign but a couple of players who missed the big part of World Cup qualifiers are hoping to be on the plane to South Africa. One of those is certainly Joe Cole, who is enjoying his football after recovering from 8-month injury lay-off and the diminutive midfielder will have plenty of time to impress Capello.

Joe Cole has last featured for England in the 4:1 in over Croatia and it is interesting he hasn’t had any contact with the manager since suffering a knee injury. Nevertheless, former West Ham played quickly proved just what Chelsea were missing while he was out and he is currently enjoying his role just behind the strikers. Cole offers the Blues a new dimension in attack and his ability to play his way out of trouble and provide killer passes for Drogba and Anelka is very much appreciated. His first touch and vision is impressive, which makes him very useful when playing in tight spaces.

The only problem is England play conventional 4-4-2 formation under Capello and the managed would have problems finding him a place in the side. Even though he is much more influential when played centrally, Cole is used to playing on the wings, with left hand side probably suits him best since he can cut inside and make all sorts of problems for opposition defenders.

Fabio Capello is still searching for the striker to play alongside Wayne Rooney and Cole is definitely capable of playing as a second striker. I am confident the Italian manager will realize just how much England can gain with Joe Cole since his versatility would be a big asset for the Three Lions.

The only thing Cole now needs to do in order to command a place in the national team is to play as much as possible for Chelsea and that shouldn’t be a problem if his rich vein of form continues. The midfielder was subbed in the Carling Cup defeat to Blackburn and is in danger of losing his starting place, but I am pretty sure Ancelotti doesn’t have better player than Cole for the position at the tip of the diamond. To sum it up, if England are to have any chance of lifting the World Cup after 44 years, they need Joe Cole in the side. You don’t have to be an expert in sports betting to know England are not exactly favourites to win the World Cup.