Odd man out: Mertesacker, Veron and Santa Cruz make the line-up but who is the misfit in our XI?
|
00:00 |
No comments |
Every week we’ll name an XI of past and present footballers for you to guess what links them all. But there’s a twist – one player will always be the odd man out in the dressing room.
This week’s team is full of current and former Premier League players and lines up as a 4-4-2. Can you work out what the connection is between them, and who the misfit is and why?
SPOILER ALERT - DON'T SCROLL DOWN TOO QUICKLY IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THE ANSWER
Odd Man Out XI: But who is the misfit in this team of stars?
So, did you work out the answer? If you need a clue then our odd man out will be asking the rest of the players for some advice before a big fixture
SPOILER ALERT - THE ANSWER IS JUST BELOW THIS PICTURE
No holding back: Midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron
(right) won 73 caps for Argentina and scored nine goals during an
international career spanning 14 years
THE LINE UP IN FULL
Shaka Hislop
The
former Newcastle, Portsmouth, Reading and West Ham goalkeeper could
have played for England – he was born in Hackney and appeared for the
Under 21s. He was even on the bench for one full international at
Wembley against Chile in February 1998 (the night Michael Owen made his
debut). He opted instead for Trinidad where he had grown up from the age
of two – and was in the team that lost 2-0 to late goals by Peter
Crouch and Steven Gerrard in 2006.
Eye on the balls: Trinidad & Tobago
goalkeeper Shaka Hislop makes a save from England striker Peter Crouch
during the World Cup clash in Germany in 2006
Ricardo Carvalho
Now
at Monaco, the defender who won three Premier League medals at Chelsea
after following Jose Mourinho from Porto was part of the Portugal side
that knocked out England in the quarter-finals in Germany in 2006. He
didn’t take any of the penalties in the shoot-out, though.
Down on the ground: Portugal defender Ricardo
Carvalho writhes in pain after Wayne Rooney's stamp during the 2006
World Cup quarter-final
Per Mertesacker
Arsenal’s
6ft 6ins centre half now has 95 caps for Germany, having made his debut
aged 20 when Jurgen Klinsmann was in charge in 2004. He was part of the
side that knocked out England in South Africa in 2010.
Rising high: Arsenal and Germany centre-back Per
Mertesacker scores against England in the 1-0 friendly victory at
Wembley in November
Olof Mellberg
Former
Aston Villa defender has twice faced England for Sweden at a World Cup
finals – first in a 1-1 draw in Japan in 2002 and then when Henrik
Larsson’s last minute goal meant Fabio Capello’s side had to settle for a
2-2 in their final group game in Germany. Now aged 36, he is still
playing for FC Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga.
Challenge: Sweden's Olof Mellberg puts in a
meaty tackle on England's Darius Vassell during the hosts' 1-0 friendly
win in Gothenburg in 2004
Bryan Oviedo - THE ODD MAN OUT
The
man who scored Everton’s historic winning goal at Old Trafford last
week might have struggled to earn a place behind Leighton Baines since
he moved to Goodison two summers ago, but the 23-year-old left back has
been a key part of the Costa Rica side which conceded only seven goals
in ten games in the final stage of CONCACAF qualifying. He’s due to
line up against Roy Hodgson’s men in Belo Horizonte on June 24.
Odd man out: Everton's Bryan Oviedo scores
against Manchester United in the recent 1-0 win at Old Trafford but he
hasn't faced England... yet
Antonio Valencia
Manchester
United’s winger was an unknown youngster playing in Spain when he took
on England for Ecuador after both had got through the group stage in
2006. Paul Jewell signed him for Wigan later that summer – at first on a
loan deal from Villareal – and by 2009 Sir Alex Ferguson paid
£16million for him. Now aged 28 he has 69 caps.
Big money: Manchester United midfielder Antonio
Valencia was bought by Sir Alex Ferguson for £16m, three years after
playing for Ecuador against England
Robert Koren
Hull’s
midfield man was Slovenia’s captain in the final group game of 2010.
England’s failure to win by more than a single David Beckham goal meant
they finished runners up in the group and so had to face Germany at the
start of the knockout phase
Man with the armband: Hull midfielder Robert
Koren captained Slovenia against England in the final group game at the
2010 World Cup in South Africa
Juan Veron
The
Argentina midfielder never quite clicked after his big move to
Manchester United– and he wasn’t much better at Chelsea either. But he
was magnificent against England at the 1998 World Cup and was always a
danger with his range of passing when the two countries met again in
2002.
Adlene Guedioura
Algerian
midfielder joined Crystal Palace this summer after playing for Wolves
and Nottingham Forest. He’s got 28 caps – one of them as a substitute in
the 2010 meeting with England when his team held Capello’s side to an
embarrassing 0-0 draw.
Off the bench: Crystal Palace midfielder Adlene
Guedioura (centre) came on as a substitute for Algeria in their goalless
draw with England at the 2010 World Cup
Jozy Altidore
Sunderland’s
24-year-old striker has got 21 goals for the USA from 66 games, and
caused England some problems before Fulham’s Clint Dempsey beat Robert
Green in the 1-1 draw that kicked off Group C in South Africa.
Regular: Sunderland striker Jozy Altidore (left)
has already played 66 games for the USA at the age of 24 and took on
England in South Africa in 2010
Roque Santa Cruz
The
Paraguay international scored 19 goals in his first season in the
Premier League for Blackburn and went on to make a big money move to
Manchester City. He had just played a part in the Bayern Munich side
that won the 2006 Bundesliga title when he lined up in a 1-0 defeat to
England in their opening group match in Germany.
Balanced: Former Manchester City and Blackburn
frontman Roque Santa Cruz (top) lined up for Paraguay against England in
their 2006 World Cup Group B opener
0 comments:
Post a Comment