Sky
England coach Sven Goran Eriksson has named a preliminary 23-man squad with five players on stand-by ahead of this summer's World Cup finals in Germany.

The Swede has selected Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing, Tottenham youngster Aaron Lennon and untried rookie Theo Walcott of Arsenal.

Walcott's inclusion will rock the football world as he has yet to even make one Premiership appearance since joining The Gunners from Championship side Southampton.

Lennon's fine end-of-season form has earned him inclusion in the provisional squad at the expense of Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is not even on the stand-by list.

Downing will add the balance to the left-hand side, but it is Walcott's inclusion as one of the four strikers which has created the most ripples.

Jermain Defoe, a regular in the squad over the past two seasons, is only on stand-by, while Charlton Athletic's Darren Bent has been overlooked.

Eriksson has opted not to gamble on the fitness of Ledley King, who has recently suffered a foot injury, while Manchester United defender Wes Brown is also absent.

The England coach has picked five players to be on stand-by - Liverpool's rookie keeper Scott Carson, Charlton full back Luke Young, West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, Defoe and Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson.

England squad:
Paul Robinson (Tottenham), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich); Gary Neville (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea); David Beckham (Real Madrid), Michael Carrick (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham); Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Stand-by: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace).

:O Vona að hann spili :> Væri fyrsti leikmaður Englands til að spila landsleik án þess að hafa spilað leik í Ensku úrvalsdeildinni :O