Jack Wilshere Dropped By England U21s, Tipped For Senior England Debut

Ollie Irish

5th, August 2010

8 Comments

By Ollie Irish

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been left out of England’s Under-21 squad for Tuesday’s friendly against Uzbekistan.

This means, almost certainly, that Wilshere is set to be picked in England’s senior squad, for Wednesday’s friendly against Hungary.

Is this Fabio Capello’s fresh start, as promised? I hope so – for too long England’s stale selection policy has been ruled by ‘past form’ (Gerrard and Lampard, Terry and Ferdinand, Lampard and Gerrard, Ferdinand and Terry etc.), whilst youthful potential was acknowledged but then overlooked. The Germans figured this out a few years ago, and look how it paid off in South Africa. I don’t see why England can’t match that achievement at the next World Cup – the talent is there.

Wilshere is one hell of a player – his confidence is what impresses me the most – and he represents England’s future. Adam Johnson (how I still wish he had gone to the World Cup), Lee Cattermole, Micah Richards and Theo Walcott have also been left out of England’s U21s, so there’s a good chance all four will join Wilshere in England’s next senior squad. About bloody time.