England vs Platinum Stars Friendly: Capello to Deploy his Best Eleven

England will face Platinum Stars, a South African club, in their last practice match before the World Cup. The match is due to take place at the Moruleng Stadium, North West Province in South Africa on 8 June.

There are reports claiming that it would be a closed-door match where only few people will be present during the game. It is pretty much understandable because England coach Fabio Capello may not like to make it big in the media.

Platinum Stars plays in Premier Soccer League (PSL), the top national football league in South Africa. The club did not perform very well in the recent past as they finished just a place above the relegation zone last season. They do not have any big stars, but against England they could find extra motivation to give their best.

Despite Rio Ferdinand’s recent injury shock, Capello is ready to deploy his best eleven against Platinum Stars in his bid to have a final look on his starting line up that he is planning to play against USA on 12 June.

Capello said to the media, “Sure these are friendly games, but you have to prepare for the game against the USA. Of course we have to be careful about injuries but we have to prepare for the game against the USA. So, yes we do. I have to play all the players that will play against the USA for 45 or 60 minutes.”

It is highly unlikely that Capello would risk holding midfielder Gareth Barry, who is gradually recovering from his injury, for the USA match. So, Steven Gerrard may be seen in the center of the midfielder partnering with Lampard.

Aaron Lenon seems to be almost certain on the right wing, while Joe Cole or Milner could be deployed on the left. However, if Capello decides to go with 5 midfielders, then there is a possibility Milner and Joe Cole both could come in. Cole looked impressive playing in the hole in the second half against Japan, while Milner looked more comfortable in the left side of the midfield in the second half of the Mexico friendly.

Dawson, the replacement of Ferdinand, seems less like to be considered for the first eleven with King, Carragher and Upson being in the race to partner Terry at the heart of the England defense.

Capello did not give any hint about his first choice goalkeeper. Green had good performance in the friendly matches, while James is highly experienced. Hart is also doing very good in the training.

In the up front, Rooney is the ultimate choice, but the question is who is going to partner him in England attack. If Capello plays with 2 strikers, then Gerrard could be seen playing just behind Rooney with while Heskey or Crouch playing up front. Otherwise, Rooney would play up front with Lampard being the supplier.