Michael Owen’s chances of playing in the World Cup finals suffered another blow on Sunday when England coach Fabio Capello snubbed the striker for next month’s qualifier with Croatia.
The 29-year-old Manchester United player, who scored his first competitive goal for the English champions in last week’s Premier League defeat of Wigan Athletic, is his country’s fourth-highest goalscorer, but Capello was not convinced enough by the striker’s form to include him in the squad that faces Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday and the Group 6 qualifier with Croatia on Sept. 9 where victory would guarantee England’s place in the finals in South Africa.
Capello has instead decided to keep faith with Tottenham Hotspur star Jermain Defoe, who has been in fine form this season.
Keeper David James misses out for the third squad running after being forced to sit out Portsmouth’s home defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, leaving West Ham United’s Robert Green as likely first-choice.
Manchester United keeper Ben Foster had been ear-marked by Capello has the main understudy to James, but some nervous displays for the Premier League champions, including failing to keep out Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin’s goal at Old Trafford on Saturday, may have damaged his chances.
In defense, the absence of Rio Ferdinand with a thigh strain has provided Manchester United teammate Wes Brown with a surprise return.
Brown produced a dominant display in central defense as United overcame Arsenal at Old Trafford, however, and Capello can also use him as cover for Glen Johnson at fullback.
The selection of Aaron Lennon was widely expected after Capello spoke glowingly about the Spurs winger this week.
Lennon replaces injured Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, who has not played this season because of a back injury Gunners boss Arsene Wenger believes is a direct result of his young star playing for both England’s senior side and the under-21s during the close-season.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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