Will Jermain Defoe Return to the England Team for the Game in Poland

Having been left out of the England team for Friday evening’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino, will the England manager, Roy Hodgson, restore Jermain Defoe to the starting line-up for the more difficult match in Poland? Defoe was omitted from the game at Wembley as he had received  a yellow card in the previous match and if he had been booked against San Marino, he would have been suspended for the match in Poland.

Jermain Defoe for England

As was expected, England won easily in an uninspiring display against the competition’s minnows with Defoe’s replacement, Danny Welbeck, putting in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance by scoring twice and winning the penalty from which Wayne Rooney scored England’s opening goal. Welbeck’s performance and goals raise the question of whether he will be retained for Tuesday’s match in Warsaw, ahead of the more experienced Defoe. The younger Welbeck was Hodgson’s preferred choice during the Euro 2012 tournament in the summer as Defoe sat it out on the substitutes’ bench.

This is not an unfamiliar situation for Defoe as he has often found himself held in reserve by his managers at both club and international level. This season, however, he had appeared to have shaken off that role with Andre Villas-Boas showing confidence in him at Tottenham and he had played for England in the previous two qualifiers with Wayne Rooney absent through injury. Defoe had responded positively to his managers’ support this year with four goals for Spurs and two in his England appearances and taken on the lone striker role for which he is not ideally suited. He has grown into the role and become more effective in it as he showed in Tottenham’s win at Old Trafford.

While Welbeck’s two goals against San Marino were his first of the season for club and country, as were Rooney’s, Defoe has been in good form and would surely have scored had he been given the opportunity against the team standing 207th in FIFA’s World Rankings.

Roy Hodgson clearly indicated with his team selection for the San Marino match that he intended using his experienced players in Poland. He omitted Defoe, James Milner and Joleon Lescott, all of whom were on a yellow card. The manager explained it as ‘wanting to see what other players could do’. The performance of Welbeck may have provided him with a selection dilemma. Milner and Lescott will presumably return but will he decide to retain the striker ahead of Defoe?

An argument for retaining Welbeck would be that he linked well with his club colleague, Rooney. This was an area that the England manager highlighted after Friday’s win but Defoe and Rooney have also played well as a partnership in previous internationals. Welbeck is the younger player and Hodgson showed his preference for the younger players during the summer.

If Defoe is snubbed by England once again, he would have every right to feel aggrieved. Both players have made seven Premier League appearances this season. Defoe, however, has played over two hundred minutes more than Welbeck and has scored four goals while the United player is still waiting to get on the scoresheet. Defoe statistics are all superior to Welbeck’s – he has has 10 shots on target to Welbeck’s 1, with a shooting accuracy of 37% compared to 14% for the younger player. Defoe has been credited with two assists and created 7 chances while Welbeck has no assists and only five chances created.

Defoe wants to play for his country and has been a loyal member of the England squad. He was considering his future at Tottenham as his lack of regular football was restricting his opportunities for playing in the England team. He deserves to be recalled to the team on his performances this season where he scored the winning goal in te friendly against Italy, scored against Moldova and was one of the better performers against Ukraine.

Will Hodgson see it in the same way? Only time will tell. I would give Defoe his chance but I’ve a feeling that Hodgson will disappoint Defoe once again in favour of the younger, Welbeck as by 2014 and the World Cup Finals in Rio, Defoe will be 32 years of age and he will regard Welbeck  as the better option for the future.

Aaron Lennon

Aaron Lennon

A further selection dilemma exists with Aaron Lennon. Having been in the international wilderness for over two years since the 2012 World Cup Finals in South Africa, Lennon has been recalled to the squad and given an early chance against San Marino with the injury to Theo Walcott after ten minutes. Lennon performed well creating the second goal with a cross for Welbeck and setting up Rooney for England’s third. With Walcott out for the match in Poland, will Lennon get the opportunity to start in Warsaw? He is deserving of the chance based on this season’s form with Tottenham where he has regularly performed at a high and consistent level. He is also prepared to work hard defensively for the team. The England manager may be more inclined to return to type and use a more defensive player on the right with Glen Johnson providing width from full back. Lennon tends to be rather surplus to requirements when the Liverpool full back is in the team.