Soccer: Capello forced into World Cup gamble

England manager Fabio Capello failed in his attempt to lure Paul Scholes out of international retirement. Photo / Getty Images

England had always envisaged an air of smooth serenity when Fabio Capello's World Cup build-up came to the crunch but the preliminary 30-man squad was announced in an atmosphere of chaos today. The manager was forced to withdraw from an online commercial venture that would have earned him a financial return for publicly ranking his players, then discovered that Manchester United's Paul Scholes would not be joining his squad, leaving him heavily dependent upon the fitness of Gareth Barry - who cannot even join the party for at least 12 days.

Capello stonewalled questions on the ill-judged "Capello Index" at today's squad announcement, hours after the Football Association had announced that it would be scrapped at least until the end of the World Cup.

"I read what you wrote," Capello said. "I prefer not to comment. I know what you have to do. We decided what we have to do. That's it, finished, from me," he added, his displeasure at the FA telling him that he must delay the project, having convened a meeting with him on the subject today, self-evident.

But the irritation that development might have caused was nothing compared to the unmitigated blow Capello was dealt by Scholes. The player, who had indicated to the England set up on Monday night that he might follow Jamie Carragher's lead in coming out of international retirement and said he would "sleep on it", said he had decided against it when the England management contacted him again. "He said `no'. He preferred to stay with his family. I tried," Capello said.

Capello also harboured some hopes as late as yesterday that Scholes' Manchester United teammate Owen Hargreaves might be available but consultations with the England team doctor, Ian Beasley, left the England manager certain that he would not be able to call upon him. That has left him to worry about the fitness of Barry. Capello shook his head yesterday and declared the Manchester City midfielder would take "too long" to recover from an ankle injury.

But Barry appears to be ready to defy medical expectation by bringing forward by six days the medical investigation he was due to undergo on his ankle ligament damage. The examination, due to take place on May 30, will now be held on May 24, the day of England's first pre-tournament friendly against Mexico at Wembley. Capello believes this will give him enough time to prove his fitness for the tournament. Barry will recuperate at home while the England squad fly out to their pre-tournament base in Graz on 17 May but if the 24 May tests prove positive he will be present when they return there after the Mexico fixture.

The selection of Barry smacks of desperation in the way that David Beckham's in 2002 and Wayne Rooney's in 2006 did when they were injured and Capello has not ruled out taking the 26-year-old in the knowledge that he cannot use him until the later stages of England's tournament. "We have to wait to make a last decision," he said on that point.

It is a squad of compromises from a manager who has always preached a mantra of using the players who are fit and who have performed for him, but the injuries which have damaged the build-up have clearly changed all that. Asked if he would take injured players to South Africa, Capello replied: "Yes. Some players are very important. They know very well my style and what I ask of them. It is one of the decisions that I take always in my career n some players are important. After that, I will decide the 23."

The two-year pursuit of Scholes, who has not played for England since the 2004 European Championship, is the most extraordinary development and suggests that Capello is less than satisfied with his central midfield options. Scholes was "one of the best midfielders in England," said the manager, who selected Sunderland's Darren Bent as his fifth striker after Fulham's Bobby Zamora was offered the chance, only to say that his Achilles injury made it impossible. Zamora will undergo surgery tomorrow.

The squad includes five players who have never started a game for Capello - Liverpool's Jamie Carragher, Spurs' Michael Dawson, Scott Parker, of West Ham United, Ledley King, another Tottenham centre-back, and Manchester City's Adam Johnson - while the Italian's decision on Rio Ferdinand, who has started just 12 league games for United this season, has been based in part on a long conversation he had with Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday.

"He told me Rio is fit and can play, no problem," Capello said. It is still not entirely clear what training, if any, King will be able to carry out at the Graz training camp.

Carragher's willingness to play comes as a relief to Capello. "The World Cup and the Champions League are the highest levels of football," the Liverpool defender said. "I am not getting any younger, we have no Champions League next season and I am keen to work under Fabio Capello."

Another whose fitness has caused concern is Wayne Rooney - but amid the chaos of the squad selection, he for once did not even elicit a mention.

- INDEPENDENT