5 times the England manager shocked the fans with his World Cup squad selection

Tomorrow afternoon is D-Day for England’s World Cup hopefuls, as Gareth Southgate is all set to announce his official 23-man squad for this summer’s tournament in Russia.

In the opinion of most observers, Southgate isn’t likely to throw any curveballs out there, although the exclusion of a couple of veterans and the inclusion of a wild card or two might well end up happening.

Past England managers, however, have made some World Cup squad picks that truly shocked the fans. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, and these stunning selections (or non-selections) went on to mixed results at the subsequent tournament.

Here are 5 times that the England manager shocked the fans with his World Cup selection.

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#1: Ashley Cole forced into international retirement – World Cup 2014

Ashley Cole was forced into international retirement when Roy Hodgson left him out of his World Cup 2014 squad

Despite not playing much football for Chelsea in the club season leading up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, it seemed like a given that veteran left-back Ashley Cole would find his way into Roy Hodgson’s squad.

After all, he’d been England’s first choice in the position since 2002 and had played at 5 major tournaments.

Sure, he was slowing down at the age of 33, but after impressive late-season showings against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, it looked as if he still had something to offer for his international side.

And Hodgson, renowned for being somewhat conservative, would surely take him as the comfortable option.

Surprisingly enough though, Hodgson disagreed, and instead selected Everton’s Leighton Baines, who’d almost been an ever-present for the Toffees in the 2013/14 season – and Southampton youngster Luke Shaw as the left-backs for his squad, omitting Cole entirely.

Cole for his part took the decision well and gave a gracious farewell statement, using the omission as a catalyst to retire from international football.

As it turned out, England probably could’ve done with his experience despite his likely rustiness. Their defence looked soft in the group stage losses to Italy and Uruguay, that saw them eliminated at the first hurdle, and Baines himself was at fault for Mario Balotelli’s winner in the former game.

#2: Fabio Capello gambles on Ledley King – World Cup 2010

Fabio Capello unsuccessfully gambled on the fitness of Ledley King for the 2010 World Cup

Tottenham centre-back Ledley King was a surprise inclusion in England’s 2010 World Cup squad, and it had nothing to do with a lack of talent, as he was perhaps the most naturally gifted defender of his generation, a group that included John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

Instead, his inclusion was surprising due to his issues with chronic knee problems, issues that kept him out of the majority of training sessions and usually limited him to playing one game per week while undertaking light fitness work alone.

This clearly didn’t lend itself well to the rigours of an international tournament, which usually required teams to play multiple games over a short space of time.

But, England manager Fabio Capello – faced with somewhat of a crisis at centre-back after Rio Ferdinand was forced out with a knee injury – felt that he was a risk worth taking.

As it turned out, he certainly wasn’t. King played just 45 minutes at the tournament, in England’s opening game against the United States, before withdrawing due to a groin injury.

It hardly came as a shock when he was then ruled out for the rest of the tournament, and England’s defensive deficiencies were cruelly exposed in the second round in a 4-1 loss to Germany.

Despite King’s talent, in reality, Capello probably would’ve been better off trying to settle John Terry into a defensive partnership with another member of the squad, rather than roll the dice on the Spurs man’s fitness.

#3: Les Ferdinand chosen ahead of Dublin and Sutton – World Cup 1998

Les Ferdinand was a surprise selection for the 1998 World Cup squad - ahead of Golden Boot winner Dion Dublin

It was a move that often gets overlooked due to a more controversial call in the squad selection for the same tournament (more on that later!). But, when Glenn Hoddle decided to take Spurs striker Les Ferdinand to the World Cup in 1998, more than a few eyebrows were raised.

It wasn’t that Ferdinand wasn’t a talented striker. He certainly was, as he’d been banging goals in for fun at Newcastle United for two seasons prior to his move to Tottenham.

But his first season at White Hart Lane, the one leading into the World Cup, was heavily disrupted by injuries, so much so that he only scored 5 goals.

Meanwhile, two other English strikers, at less fashionable clubs, were making a lot of noise. Coventry City’s Dion Dublin and Blackburn Rovers’ Chris Sutton both scored 18 goals in 1997/98, sharing the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Liverpool teenager Michael Owen.

It seemed like a given that one of the two would go to the World Cup, but Dublin soon became the only option when Sutton refused to play for England’s B-team and was then frozen out by Hoddle altogether.

Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham were clearly England’s first-choice strikers and Owen had forced himself into the picture with his form, but it seemed like a no-brainer that Dublin would be the fourth man included. Instead, Ferdinand was selected while Dublin stayed at home.

In the end, it didn’t matter. Ferdinand didn’t make a single appearance at the tournament – but it was a call that sent out a horribly wrong message; that playing for a bigger club could get you selected for England regardless of your form, and it was a shocking move from Hoddle.

#4: Sven selects Theo Walcott as a wild card – World Cup 2006

Sven-Goran Eriksson's decision to take a teenage Theo Walcott to the 2006 World Cup was a jaw-dropper

It remains one of the most bizarre selections in England World Cup history. Going into the 2006 tournament, the starting eleven that England would likely be playing seemed to be carved in stone, and the strikers were always likely to be Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney, with Peter Crouch as the backup man should one of the two be unavailable.

As it turned out, both Owen and Rooney were going into the tournament with question marks surrounding their fitness.

That seemed to open a window of opportunity for another English striker, and the most likely names appeared to be Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent, who’d finished the 2005/06 season as the highest scoring Englishman.

Instead, though, boss Sven-Goran Eriksson left both Bent and Defoe at home and selected Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott instead.

Jaws hit the floor all over the country when the selection was announced, as not only was Walcott only 17 years old, but he’d only played 13 senior games and had never kicked a ball for Arsenal since his move there.

Eriksson claimed that the selection would help Walcott to gain valuable experience, but picking such an unknown quantity as one of just two fully fit strikers simply seemed like folly.

As it turned out, Sven didn’t end up using the teenager anyway, even when England desperately needed a goal in their quarter-final match with Portugal.

Quite what the Swede was thinking with this selection remains a mystery, and despite going on to moderate success with England, Walcott has still never appeared at a World Cup for the Three Lions.

#5: Hoddle drops Gazza – World Cup 1998

England fans were left in shock when Glenn Hoddle decided to leave Paul Gascoigne out of his World Cup 1998 squad

Even 20 years on, England fans are still feeling the shockwaves caused by this decision. Apparently, it’s one of the reasons why Gareth Southgate is choosing to announce his squad selection for this year’s tournament at such an early stage.

Going into the 1998 World Cup it seemed unthinkable that boss Glenn Hoddle could leave out Paul Gascoigne. After all, ‘Gazza’ was recognized as possibly the most talented midfielder England could call upon, even nearing the end of his career, and he’d performed remarkably well in the qualifying campaign leading into the tournament, particularly in the key 0-0 draw with Italy.

But the latter stages of the 1997/98 season had seen him struggling for fitness at Division 1 side Middlesbrough (despite helping them to promotion to the Premier League) and a week prior to the squad announcement, Gascoigne was pictured scoffing a kebab late at night, ignoring warnings from Hoddle about his physical condition.

And so with young talent like David Beckham and Paul Scholes breaking through into the side, Hoddle decided to do the unthinkable and dropped the man who was once England’s talisman from the squad.

Football folklore has claimed that Gascoigne wrecked Hoddle’s hotel room when he was told of the decision, but how true is this, remains somewhat of a question mark.

Either way, Gazza never played for England again and saw his life and career spiral out of control in the years that followed.

Whether Hoddle made the right call remains up in the air, too. England looked great at times during the tournament and were unlucky to lose to Argentina on penalties in the second round, but many fans still believed that if Gascoigne were there, he could’ve provided the spark of magic that England needed when the game was tight.

Regardless, it remains the biggest World Cup selection shocker in England’s history.