Who would be in your England training squad?

Fabio Capello is set to announce his 30-man England World Cup training squad later on this afternoon, and he has some tough decisions to make. Injuries and loss of form have both played their part as Capello aims to put together a squad he will have to whittle down to 23 players on 1st June. So who should be in the final reckoning?

If the papers are to be believed, Gareth Barry will be the major casualty following his one month lay-off: a recovery date too close to the start of the tournament for Capello. Barry has been a key part of England’s midfield under the stewardship of the Italian, but his ruthless nature means he is unlikely to risk taking a player with questionable fitness.

Which might raise some eyebrows about his mooted replacement, Owen Hargreaves. The United midfielder’s Premier League appearances this season runs to just one subsitute appearance of one minute, but Capello clearly feels he is worth looking at as part of the training squad, especially given his ability to play at full back.

This is something that also appears to have counted in the favour of Jamie Carragher, who looks to be handed another opportunity in England colours following a spell in the international wilderness. Whilst his form for Liverpool this season has been patchy, at least he has been playing consistently which is more than can be said for the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott.

It is open to debate as to whether the latter of these two will make the squad, as is also the case with Wes Brown who is recovering from a metatarsal injury. Could this open the door for the likes of Gary Cahill, Michael Dawson and Phil Jagielka? Either way, Ledley King appears to have made the cut for the final 30 at least with some commanding performances in recent weeks.

Capello has no shortage of options for width, and Adam Johnson, Joe Cole, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing will all be hoping for the opportunity to prove they are the answer on the left. The battle for a spot on the right is equally as close. Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Theo Walcott will probably all make the training squad, but one of the three is destined not to make the final cut.

Up front, it now seems to be well recognised that barring injuries, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe will be the strikers on the plane to South Africa. However, Capello has one last chance to look at the competition and Carlton Cole, Darren Bent and Bobby Zamora will all be hoping for the opportunity.

So all things considered, here is The Football Blog’s guess as to who will make Capello’s 30-man traning squad:

David James
Robert Green
Joe Hart
Paul Robinson

Glen Johnson
Jamie Carragher
John Terry
Rio Ferdinand
Matthew Upson
Ledley King
Phil Jagielka
Ashley Cole
Leighton Baines
Stephen Warnock

Aaron Lennon
Theo Walcott
Shaun-Wright Phillips
Frank Lampard
Steven Gerrard
Owen Hargreaves
Michael Carrick
Joe Cole
James Milner
Adam Johnson

Wayne Rooney
Peter Crouch
Jermain Defoe
Emile Heskey
Carlton Cole
Bobby Zamora

Which other outside bets would you give a chance to impress in the training squad? How much do you think performances in the friendlies against Mexico and Japan will matter? Do you think Capello has his final 23 in mind? As ever, let us know your thoughts.