England team v Mexico

With two friendly fixtures before World Cup 2010, Fabio Capello has the tricky task of optimising the collective playing time of his favoured personnel whilst fielding as many of his squad as reasonably practicable.

Even with Gareth Barry missing, the team shape for the friendly against Mexico should not vary significantly from that which became familiar over the qualifiers. Frank Lampard will form one part of a conservative central-midfield pairing, Wayne Rooney will play a flexible attacking role just behind a target man, Steven Gerrard will take up an inside-left role, whilst a more orthodox winger will feature on the right. The key questions relate to who will take up these spare roles.

Next to Lampard in central-midfield it could be Tom Huddlestone, Michael Carrick or James Milner. Capello is a big fan of Milner and the Villa player has performed with vigour and aplomb during his appearances for England. However, Lampard does tend to have the most freedom within England’s central-midfield structure, so a more defensively minded partner may be required. Carrick has been used with Barry in central-midfield (to good effect in the friendly against Egypt), but he has been out of favour at Man Utd and may not provide a sufficiently resolute defensive shield when Lampard does break forwards. Huddlestone is a good ball-playing defensive midfielder, but perhaps the closest to a like-for-like replacement for Barry is Scott Parker. He offers a bit more grit than Carrick and has more experience than Milner of stabilising a central-midfield. I’d therefore opt for Parker, although Milner would be a close second based on his international form and adaptability.

On the right of midfield it’s a tricky choice between Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon. Walcott’s form has been hit-and-miss with Arsenal, but he’s a Capello favourite and his pace could unsettle any full-back. If Walcott’s form remains shaky, then Lennon may be first choice by the time the tournament arrives: Lennon has experienced injury but returned to Tottenham’s starting XI before the close of the Premier League season. Adam Johnson is an intriguing alternative: although left-footed he has been used on the right at Man City. But with Gerrard tucking in from the left flank, Capello may prefer to keep a right-footer hugging the opposite touchline so that the team structure does not collapse into congestion in central areas.

Emile Heskey was first-choice centre-forward over the qualifiers but didn’t see any action against Egypt back in March. His playing time for Villa has been limited, but sensational club form has never been a prerequisite for his selection. His strength, pace and work-rate have been a key buttress to the team structure and he brings out the best in other attacking players. However, Peter Crouch, with his vastly superior international goal return, must be pushing for a first-team berth.

My favoured team for the Mexico friendly features above, but it would also be good to see Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent in action. [The graphic is courtesy of the gaffr.com team selector.]