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Owen, 30, who has scored 40 goals in 89 games for England, last played for the national side in March 2008.

Manchester United striker Michael Owen has all but given up hope of making England’s World Cup squad this summer.

“It’s been a long time since I was in the England squad,” Owen told BBC Radio 5 live. “You never give up but it’s probably a long shot in racing terms.”

England boss Fabio Capello has said his players must be first-team regulars but Owen has not held down a United place.

Owen has started only five league games for his club this season following his July move from Newcastle, scoring two goals in the top flight and seven in all competitions.
The former Liverpool forward’s most impressive performance this season came in United’s 3-1 win over Wolfsburg in the Champions League, when Owen scored a hat-trick, but he was back on the bench for United’s next game - the home defeat by Aston Villa.

Capello flew to South Africa on Sunday for Fifa’s World Cup pre-tournament workshop in Sun City after watching in-form Fulham striker Bobby Zamora in the London side’s 2-1 win over Birmingham City.

England play Egypt at Wembley on 3 March, with Capello set to announce his squad for that friendly this weekend.

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said of Zamora: “I think Capello will have been impressed. I know the fans were chanting his name for England and that was quite right.
“Capello knows football very well and is a person I regard as a friend. I’ve got every faith in his judgement. (continue reading…)

The England  manager has a much more important judgment call, one that could have a decisive impact on England’s chances of winning the World Cup, still to make in the coming months: whether Terry and Wayne Bridge can ever operate in the same dressing room again.

I always thought it was 50-50 whether Capello would relieve Terry of the captaincy. He gave it a week, saw that the controversy was not going to die down, and acted decisively. He will know, however,

that stripping Terry of the captaincy has not resolved the personal situation with Bridge. That relationship is compromised, whether Terry is captain or not.
It does not matter how mentally strong a player is, the thing about football is that players have to be able to rely on and trust each other. You want to tell me that the two of them in the same dressing room won’t cause problems?

It will. The situation is only made worse as they both play on the same side of the pitch, Terry as a left-sided centre back and Bridge at left-back. I can’t see Bridge having total trust in Terry. (continue reading…)

The love rivals were handed a possible FA Cup quarter-final meeting in yesterday’s draw.

And that potential clash between Chelsea and Manchester City will be played a week after the clubs meet in the Premier League and days after England play Egypt on March 3.

A City source said: “Wayne has acted with dignity and kept his head down through all this but after all that has gone on, he doesn’t need anyone to tell him what this FA Cup game would mean.

“Everyone is motivated at City these days but if they needed any extra motivation to beat Stoke to get back to Stamford Bridge, this will be it.”

Terry and Bridge have not spoken since news broke of JT’s affair with Bridge’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.

If City beat Stoke in next week’s fifth-round replay they will travel to holders Chelsea in the first weekend of March.

SunSport can reveal Three Lions boss Fabio Capello WILL pick Bridge for the friendly against Egypt after his personal check on Saturday. (continue reading…)

With exactly four months to go until England kick-off their campaign against the USA in Rustenburg, Cole faces a race against the clock to recover from a broken ankle and prove his fitness to Fabio Capello.

While it provides the Italian with a further untimely headache, England have been here all too many times before. At least they can take heart in the fact that Cole has not broken a metatarsal.

DAVID BECKHAM
The then-Manchester United midfielder broke the second metatarsal bone in his left foot during a Champions League clash with Deportivo La Coruna in April 2002. With just seven weeks until the tournament kicked off in Japan, Beckham was forced to miss the rest of the Premier League campaign but managed to recover in time to be partially fit for England’s opening match against Sweden. He went on to score the winning goal against Argentina which ensured England’s progress into the knockout phases. (continue reading…)

Ashley Cole’s broken ankle is a big setback for England because he is one of the genuine world-class players at Fabio Capello’s disposal.

Let’s not pretend someone can come in at left-back and be as effective as Cole — he is the best in the world.

But it’s no good crying about it. Capello has to pick another player to replace Cole for the Egypt game on March 3 and hope he shows himself a worthy contender for the World Cup should the worst happen and the Chelsea man misses out.

It’s my firm opinion that person should be Wayne Bridge, regardless of his problems at Manchester City this season and a well-documented falling-out with John Terry.

Let’s take the private matter first. The Terry-Bridge relationship should not affect Capello’s thinking — and I don’t think it will.

They are both adults and the manager will expect them to put any differences aside once they are on the football pitch. In my experience, most dressing rooms have a couple of individuals who don’t like each other or who have had a row. (continue reading…)

Mancini brushed aside suggestions that Bridge might think twice about playing alongside Terry, who was stripped of the England captaincy by coach Fabio Capello amid the media furore caused by allegations over his private life.

Wayne Bridge is ready to step in as England’s left-back, according to his club manager Roberto Mancini.

Ashley Cole’s broken ankle means he will be out for three months and could miss the World Cup, leaving Bridge as the most obvious replacement.

However, that would mean lining up with John Terry, who is alleged to have had an affair with Bridge’s ex-girlfriend.

But Manchester City boss Mancini said: “He is committed to playing for England. If he is picked, he’ll play.”

Bridge has only just returned to action following a two-month lay-off with a knee injury, but he could replace Cole in the England team to face Egypt in a friendly on 3 March. (continue reading…)

ASHLEY COLE’S World Cup dream was left in tatters last night by a broken left ankle.

Now England boss Fabio Capello is facing up to the nightmare of having to play John Terry and Wayne Bridge in the same side.

Chelsea left-back Cole enters hospital today for an operation to repair the fracture. He will be out for at least three months, will miss all England’s World Cup warm-up games and maybe the tournament itself.

Chelsea will be without Ashley Cole for around three months after the England defender fractured his left ankle in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat by Everton.

The 29-year-old left-back limped off in the second half after a challenge by Everton’s Landon Donovan.

A scan on Thursday revealed the full extent of Cole’s injury. (continue reading…)

Capello stripped the Chelsea defender of the captaincy on Friday following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate’s ex-girlfriend.

England manager Fabio Capello refused to answer questions about his decision to axe John Terry as captain at the qualifying draw for Euro 2012.

“I want to speak about the draw. Nothing else,” he said.

But when quizzed on Terry and the decision to name Rio Ferdinand as his captain, Capello gave a brief reply.

“I spoke with John Terry, you all know why. It was a private conversation. No other questions. I am concentrated on football.”

Terry has been at the centre of a media storm following allegations he had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of England and former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge. (continue reading…)

As John Terry was dramatically stripped of the captaincy, boss Fabio Capello announced the armband would pass to the vice-captain.

That man is Ferdinand but Capello did not name him and has tried not to turn the captaincy into a bigger issue than it already is.

Capello said: “When I chose John Terry as captain, I also selected a vice-captain and also named a third choice. There is no reason to change this decision.”

An FA insider said: “As far as Fabio is concerned, Rio is next in line and after that it’s Steven Gerrard.

“But he sees no need to make a huge deal about it.

“He might not even talk to Rio about it until the squad meets up for the match against Egypt on March 3.”

Ferdinand succeeds Terry as skipper despite problems of his own.

Capello wasted no time in handing the role to the Manchester United defender.

But he must now hope the decision does not prove a gamble.

Terry has lost the job because of off-field troubles - yet Ferdinand is no stranger to controversy.

His England debut came as a sub against Cameroon in November 1997 but he would have played before, had he not been charged with drink-driving in the build-up to the 1998 World Cup qualifier against Moldova.

In 2003 he was banned for eight months for skipping a drugs test and missed Euro 2004 as a result.

Ironically, he was replaced by Terry. (continue reading…)