Rumours - Walcott paid the price for defying Capello orders

Published: 02 Jun 2010 - 07:08:15

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The big story today is Theo Walcott's omission from the Fabio's England squad, which was leaked at least a generation before the FA got round to making an official statement.

Apparently Walcott was so shocked when he received the call he thought it might be a hoax.

Anyhow, the speculation is that Fabio Capello made the decision based on Walcott's performance against Japan on Sunday.

According to some sources, the Italian watched the DVD of Walcott's efforts against Mexico and gave the 21-year-old a roasting for cutting inside too many times and losing the ball.

Walcott was then told to address the problem against Japan, but the same problem presented and his fate was sealed.

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David James has been given the No 1 jersey for the World Cup, but that doesn't mean he'll start against the USA.

According to reports, the 39-year-old was given the shirt in respect of his experience.

ENGLAND'S 23 IN PICTURES

WALCOTT WOE

England World Cup squad: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham); Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa); Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City); Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

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