Gary Neville has questioned the decision of England manager Fabio Capello’s decision to pick Liverpool’s Glen Johnson as his sole right-back for the World Cup.
Johnson has suffered an injury-interrupted second half of the season, and Neville is concerned at the lack of cover.
And Neville said: “I’m surprised there is only one right-back in the squad.”
Capello has included Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher, who can play at right-back as well as his favoured centre-back position.
However, Neville argued that team-mate Wes Brown, who started at right-back when England beat Egypt in their last fixture, was unlucky to miss out on the final 30.
“I wouldn’t say I’m overly disappointed not to be named in the initial 30-man squad, although I did think there was maybe a chance I could get in,” added Neville, who made 15 Premier League starts last season but failed to add to his 85 England caps.
“I’m probably more surprised Wes Brown isn’t in the 30, to be honest.”
Neville admitted that Capello’s attempt to persuade Paul Scholes to come out of international retirement, made sense, even if it was unlikely to succeed.
“I’m not surprised Capello tried to get him out of retirement because if there’s one player I would try to pull out of retirement it’s Scholes,” Neville said of his team-mate and fellow 35-year-old.
“Capello maybe got a bit desperate at the last minute and wanted Scholes because he’s still probably the best midfielder in England, but Scholes decided to stick to his guns.”
