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13 Jun 2013
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A preview of the 5 Everton players involved for England as they travel to Turkey for the FIFA U20 World Cup
The second most prestigious (at least according to FIFA) International tournament kicks off in a weeks time in Turkey with England starting their Group E campaign against Iraq on Sunday June 23rd, followed by Chile on June 26th and the final group match against Egypt on June 29th.
The tournament has often clashed with the U21 and U19 UEFA European Championships and as such, squads sent to the U20 World Cup can often be seen as weakened selections, however a strong U20 squad has been selected by England for their trip to Turkey.
Everton have rarely had players included in recent years; James Wallace was a late callup for the Colombia tournament in 2011, but few have featured previously.
This time however, with the January signing of experienced U19 International John Stones adding to the blues youth ranks, Everton can boast 5 players in the squad. Defenders Luke Garbutt and John Stones, Midfielders John Lundstram and Ross Barkley and the surprise inclusion of Striker Chris Long.
Garbutt, with over 35 youth caps to his name already, is no stranger to the national set-up but was initially overlooked in favour of Leeds United's Sam Byram. Byram subsequently pulled out and Garbutt stepped up and will compete with Middlesbroughs Adam Reach and West Hams Adam Potts for the left-back spot. With the experienced Reach probably preferred by Peter Taylor, Garbutt may see his game-time limited unless he's utilised on the left-wing, where he does have experience with Evertons U18s and Reserves.
John Stones, Evertons signing from Barnsley for £3m in January hasn't yet featured for the first team but has been an U21 regular. Already experienced at the national level for England, he is competing with Liverpools Jon Flanagan for the right back spot and biased views aside, probably deserves to start.
Midfield is where it gets interesting. with a compliment of talented centre midfielders consisting of Lundstram, Prowse and Coady, it remains to be seen who will start, although Coady being named Captain would seem to guarentee his place. With Prowse having some experience with Southampton this season and Lundstram ending the season strongly with promoted Doncaster Rovers, Taylor may opt to rotate the 2 alongside Coady, or may opt for a 4-3-3 and settle for all 3.
Barkley, Bigiramana, Cole and Pritchard make the attacking midfielder quartet but without knowing the tactics of Taylor, it's difficult to see how they'll line up. 4-3-3 with high wingers and a lone forward, a flat 4-4-2? or a 4-2-3-1 with 3 attacking midfielders similar to Chelsea and Man City? Lundstram is the more certain of the Everton 5 to start.
Youngster Barkley is ineligible for U19 duty, but Taylor seemingly has no qualms about picking the Everton playmaker, despite U21 boss Stuart Pearce seemingly taking a dislike to Barkleys talents and opting for others in his squads.
Surprise inclusion is Chris Long. Having scored 15 goals at U18 level this season, he has featured for Alan Stubbs' U21 team on occasion but will find it difficult to merit a starting place, especially if Taylor opts for a 4-4-3 or 4-2-3-1 with Harry Kane of Spurs the likely lone Striker. Long does have experience of playing on the flanks though and making runs inside so could feature out wide if called upon.
Expectations are high for this team, overcoming Iraq and Egypt shouldn't pose a problem, with Chile a potential banana skin. should England finish in the top 2 places, potential opponents in the knockout round could be: Croatia, Uruguay, Mexico, Greece or Paraguay.
