Fulham’s Bullard earns maiden England call

By DPA,

London : Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard was the only uncapped player to be included when Fabio Capello named his England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia.


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The 29-year-old has been in fine form this season after recovering from a serious knee injury, and gets his chance with Steven Gerrard and Michael Carrick, both unavailable.

England will expect a comfortable ride against Andorra Saturday, but their stiffest test will be Wednesday as they travel to Zagreb, where Croatia have never lost a competitive game.

Two defeats to Croatia were one of the main reasons behind England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

The squad:
Goalkeepers: Rib Green (West Ham); David James (Portsmouth); Paul Robinson (Blackburn)
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester Utd), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester Utd), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Matthew Upson (West Ham)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), David Bentley (Tottenham), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan), Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

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