The Kids Are Alright

England last week launched a bid to host the 2018 World Cup, which was backed by Gordon Brown’s government. With the current England team enduring difficult circumstances, a coach devoid of imagination and the possibility of an embarrassing omission form Euro 2008, what can we expect from our nation in 10 years time?

The current crop from a golden generation, including Frank Lampard, Steve Gerrard, Joe Cole and Michael Owen are in their prime right now but they have not won a trophy in their England careers to date. By the time 2018 comes around they will all be nearing 40 and, with the probable exception of the un-droppable Sir David Beckham (250 caps), will be considered too old to keep the home fires burning. There may be light breaking onto the horizon though, in the shape of several effervescent young footballers who are lighting up the faces of academy bosses and senior managers up and down the country.

Here then is a possible England line-up for World Cup 2018, charged with the task of finally recapturing a trophy which, by then, could be 52 years in the waiting.

GK: Alex Smithies (Huddersfield Town) d.o.b. 5/3/90
Narrowly edges fellow contender Jason Steele for the number 1 spot largely due to his performances during the U17 World Cup, which included a penalty save against Brazil. At club level Smithies opportunities have so far been limited by the simultaneous rise of another decent goalkeeping prospect at Huddersfield, Simon Eastwood - the Terriers suddenly emerging at the ‘go-to’ club for young keepers. Smithies main strengths are shot-stopping and commanding of his area, but like most keepers, attributes such as dealing with crosses, positional sense and anticipation will improve with age. In this department though, we can’t do much worse than the current calamity.

DEF: Krystian Pearce (Birmingham City) 5/1/90
A powerful centre-half in the Micah Richards mould, Pearce has been impressive for England U17s and has now made the step up to U19 level. The gentle giant nicknamed by his team mates ‘Chief’ is strong in the air, but like many modern footballers he is a good ball player too. Many critics considered him England’s best player at the U17 World Cup in Korea, where he also scored, selling the keeper a dummy before slotting home. He is yet to break into the Birmingham side but has recently joined Notts County on a short-term loan. He is still only 17 but we might start hearing a lot more about Pearce in the next year or two.

DEF: Joe Mattock (Leicester City) 15/5/90
Seventeen year old Mattock is a left back who has shown potential for several years, recognised by England through regular selections at U15, U16 and U17 level. This season he has forced himself to the fringes of the first team and has already played 8 times so far. Mattock likes to get forward and can also play left midfield. He is still error prone though and some supporters have got on his back during games. The fact City have had the confidence to blood him at such a young age can only be a good thing for young Joe’s career and he is predicted to have a bright future.

DEF: Jordan Spence (West Ham Utd) 24/5/90
Captained England in the U17s World Cup in Korea, and scored against Brazil along the way in an impressive campaign. He has already proved himself a great leader who inspires others. The Hammers have a great youth setup and a terrific recent record of producing talent at Upton Park, with the likes of Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand all coming through the ranks to become England regulars over the past few years. Spence is considered to be the best of the bunch from the club’s latest batch of promising youngsters. He will most likely soon gain experience of senior football with a loan move, with no shortage of lower league admirers looking to take him on.

DEF: Sam Hutchinson (Chelsea) 3/8/89
Eighteen year old right back Sam has impressed many of the coaching staff at Chelsea and captains the reserve side. While Jose Mourinho was at the club he spoke of Hutchinson as being a future member of the first team. He was handed his debut in the last game of last season against Everton and is currently a regular with England U19s. Plymouth Argyle attempted to loan him at the start of the season but were denied as Chelsea wanted the player to benefit from being around the first team squad. Now, with new management at Stamford Bridge, Hutchinson may be allowed to seek experience of senior football elsewhere and develop into the player Mourinho spotted last year.

MID: John Bostock (Crystal Palace) 15/1/92
A future England captain in the making, Bostock has made great strides in a very short spell of time. Despite being just 15 years old, he broke into the Crystal Palace first team last month and immediately looked comfortable at Championship level, ‘He didn’t look out of place did he’ beamed Neil Warnock. It is reported that Barcelona and Man Utd are keen to sign him but his development will be quicker at Palace for now, with vital match experience on offer. Bostock is a highly technical player, quick and is a good passer. He also likes to shoot from distance which speaks volumes for his confidence. He has already shown glimmers of his creativity when, in his first appearance as a substitute, he executed the famed Ronaldinho trick of looking one way and playing the ball the other.

MID: Henri Lansbury (Arsenal) 12/10/90
Arsene Wenger is apparently very excited about right winger Lansbury, who has been at the Gunners since he was 9 years old. This means Lansbury has known nothing but the Wenger way ever since and should be moulded into the Frenchman’s ideal type of player. Looks-wise there are shades of Rosicki or Hleb to Lansbury and his play is also similar - all one-touch pass and movement, accompanied by great ball control and vision. He made his debut in the Carling Cup last month for the last few minutes against Sheffield Utd after impressing in a key role for England U17s in Korea. He looked a little lightweight and wanted too much time on the ball in the Carling Cup, but Wenger is not one often known to get carried away, which means this boy must have something.

MID: Danny Welbeck (Man Utd) 26/11/90
Alex Ferguson has likened the tricky England U17 winger/forward Welbeck to Nwankwo Kanu for his ‘smooth and languid style’. But he is also strong, quick and hard working which is often disguised by his appearance. Welbeck possesses a box of tricks to accompany his technique and it will do him no harm to be training everyday alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ryan Giggs. There is rumoured to be a new crop of talented youngsters about to emerge all at once, as seems to be the trend at Old Trafford. First it was Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Nevilles. Now Welbeck leads the new generation, from Lee Martin, Frazer Richardson and Febian Brandy. Welbeck is destined for the top.

MID: David Amoo (Liverpool) 23/4/91
Amoo has been lighting up LiverpoolTV with his forceful performances for the academy sides, scoring some spectacular long range goals and running opposition defences ragged. A first year scholar signed from Millwall, Amoo is powerfully built for his age and has the ability to run at pace with the ball. Academy director John Owens describes him, ‘David is a tall, fast striker who’s always looking to use his pace to get behind defenders. He’s always willing to have a crack at goal.’ Amoo can play on the wing or upfront and at 16 years of age, there is plenty of time for him to improve on his raw ability. From what I personally have seen of him, he should turn into a seriously good player.

STR: Theo Walcott (Arsenal) 16/3/89
By 2018 Theo will be 29, which is a strange thought. To make it as world class much will depend on how he develops the physical side to his game, that aside he has all the attributes required to step into role model Thierry Henry’s shoes; blistering pace, good touch and a calm finish (which he showed twice against Slavia Prague recently).Theo is the boy Arsenal fans so desperately want to succeed, he hints in fits and bursts at his immense ability and potential and they are desperate for Arsene Wenger’s expensive outlay to be proved another example of excellent talent spotting. He should become the natural replacement for the similarly-styled Michael Owen in the England team.

STR: James Vaughan (Everton) 14/7/88
Vaughan will hope his ‘fox-in-the-box’ tag will lead to a distinctly better career than fate had in stall for former Toffees striker Francis Jeffers. And the early indications are good. A natural predator, with sudden acceleration and great awareness of his position from goal, he is the type of player Everton fans have been waiting to see since the days of Gary Linekar. Injury has restricted him this season in a campaign where, if he is to progress, he will hope to play more regularly. He regained fitness of late, making a scoring return to the first team against Birmingham at the start of November (his 6th in 20 games for the club). Vaughan became the clubs youngest ever goal scorer in April 2005 at 16 and 271 days and he has not looked back since. However he is far from the finished article at present, his passing and protection of possession could be better. With Yakubu around he has the chance to learn from real quality and develop to a higher level.

Subs:
Jason Steele (Middlesbrough)
Scott Sinclair (Chelsea)
Victor Moses (Crystal Palace)
Marc Randall (Arsenal)
Daniel Gosling (Plymouth Argyle)

- A player caught your eye who you think could be a future England star? Not in this selection? Maybe you disagree with the line-up? Leave a comment, & your views