Gooner Talk

Arsenal trio Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs trained with England today at the Gunners’ London Colney training ground ahead of Wednesday’s international friendly against Hungary.

Both Wilshere and Gibbs were drafted in by Three Lions boss Fabio Capello for the midweek friendly and could win their first caps for their country.

Capello seems determined to inject some youth into his disappointing World Cup 2010 squad, while the decision could be the beginning of a long international career for the pair.

Check out the video below (You may be able to spot Arsenal’s Under-18′s squad training on the pitch behind England)

England squad to face Hungary on Wednesday:

Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea)

Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham)

Arsenal youngsters Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs have not been selected in Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 squad for the upcoming friendly with Uzbekistan — a sign that the duo could be promoted to Fabio Capello’s senior side.

Both players were expected to be involved in the upcoming 2014 European Championship qualifiers, with 18-year-old Wilshere impressing throughout Arsenal’s pre-season campaign.

Added to that, Theo Walcott’s inclusion is also probable, meaning three Gunners’ stars could be playing for the senior team very shortly.

We’ll keep you up to date of their involvement if it happens, so stay tuned to the blog for that!

England Under-21 squad to play Uzbekistan at Ashton Gate on August 10 (kick-off 7.30pm):

Frankie Fielding (Blackburn Rovers), Alex McCarthy (Reading), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Martin Kelly (Liverpool), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Jack Cork (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton Wanderers), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Andy Carroll (Newcastle United), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).

Cesc Fabregas helped his Spain beat Holland 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup final to win the tournament for the first time in their history.

Both teams had chances to win the game in normal time but an extra half hour was needed to separate them and Andres Iniesta crowned a magnificent performance with the winning goal only four minutes from the end.

Substitute Fabregas played a superb ball which split the Dutch defence and Iniesta made no mistake from six yards out to send the Spanish fans into raptures.

Fabregas, who has been the subject of intense transfer speculation this summer, entered the fray with four minutes remaining, the Arsenal star coming on for Alonso but he could not unlock the Dutch defence in normal time.

Despite that, the Gunners skipper had a glorious chance four minutes into extra time. Iniesta played a wonderful through ball to the 23-year-old but Stekelenburg stuck out a leg to keep the scores level.

The Spaniards withheld the overly physical Dutch approach and managed to come out victorious for the first time in their history.

Hosts South Africa grabbed their first win of the 2010 World Cup by defeating France 2-1 but it failed to put them through to the second phase.

‘Bafana Bafana’ gave their fans the perfect gift in the 20th minute when central defender Bongani Khumalo nodded home from a Siphiwe Tshabalala corner.

The day only got worse for France five minutes later when midfielder Yoann Gourcuff was sent off for an aerial challenge on MacBeth Sibaya which looked a bit harsh for a straight red.

In the 37th minute, South Africa went up 2-0 when Katlego Mphela finished with ease after a cross from Tsepo Masilela sending the Bloemfontein crowd into a frenzy.

France were making a better fist of things early in the second term and welcomed former Gunner Thierry Henry onto the pitch in the 55th minute to equal Fabien Barthez’s record of 17 World Cup finals appearances.

Down the other end, Mphela was causing problems for the Les Bleus defence as his side enjoyed more possession but finally France scored their first goal of the tournament when Florent Malouda hit the target in the 70th minute after Franck Ribery teed him up in front of an empty net.

The home side needed another few goals if they were any chance of pushing through to the Round of 16 but they didn’t come and the dream of the Rainbow Nation was over as was a disastrous World Cup for the French.

Ratings:

Bacary Sagna- 6 – Composed. Did well with Diaby in the build up to the consolation goal.

William Gallas- 5 – The Juventus-bound defender was average and showed no motivation throughout the match.

Gael Clichy- 7 – Came into the team for skipper Evra and had a decent game. Couldn’t prevent the opener.

Abou Diaby- 6 – Involved in the build-up to the consolation with Sagna. Definitely one of the better France players.

France striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup after after refusing to apologise for his half-time rant at coach Raymond Domenech.

Anelka was asked to apologise by French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and, upon refusing to do so, was asked to leave the squad.

Les Bleus’ mounting problems have only been made worse by Anelka’s insults towards the French boss, with William Gallas also contributing to them.

Juventus-bound Gallas has also acted like a diva throughout the World Cup so far, refusing to go take part in press conferences. Added to that, after Thursday’s defeat against Mexico the 33-year-old swore and gave a French television reporter the ‘finger’.

Fortunately, Arsenal stars Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna have not been involved in any of the quarrels, instead being praised for their professionalism by several French newspapers.