ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson has announced his squad for the Brazil World Cup, which starts next month, with no major surprises among his selections, although the emphasis is on youth. There are 23 players in the squad and seven more on standby. Southampton's 18-year-old defender Luke Shaw and 20-year-old Everton midfielder Ross Barkley are the two most inexperienced players in the squad, but other young players to make the cut include Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling. Everton defender John Stones is also on the standby list. The Guardian notes that ten of the 23 players in the main squad have ten or fewer England caps, "which could be construed as a positive or a negative, depending on your point of view". But Phil McNulty of the BBC notes that the "old guard" is still represented through the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. The biggest talking point is the omission of Chelsea veteran Ashley Cole who has been overlooked in favour of Shaw. However the news did not come as a surprise as Cole revealed that he was not in the squad last night and also announced his retirement from international football. The FA confirmed the squad at 2pm, and Hodgson appeared at a press conference at a car factory in Luton soon afterwards.
CONFIRMED: Roy Hodgson has unveiled his @England squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil #3Lions pic.twitter.com/eEdGnD5MBe — England (@england) May 12, 2014
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