With John Terry injured for England’s game tonight against Ukraine at Wembley, Frank Lampard believes Gary Cahill is the man to replace his Chelsea team-mate.
That’s likely to be the case, with national manager Roy Hodgson set to pick Cahill to partner Joleon Lescott in the heart of the defence, preferring him to Everton’s Phil Jagielka, and Lampard cites last seasons’ performances in the Champions’ League from Cahill as the main premise for his inclusion.
Lampard certainly has a point too. In the semi final win against Barcelona back in April Cahill was superb, and he went on to help the Blues win in the final against Bayern Munich, and so thoroughly deserves his chance tonight to prove his worth on the international stage.
The 26-year-old was unfortunate to miss out on the Euros in the summer having broken his jaw in a friendly against Belgium, and the Ukraine match provides him with the perfect opportunity to show his value to Roy Hodgson.
Some fans may say that Phil Jagielka deserves a starting place having previously partnered Lescott at Everton, and he also played in England’s win over Italy last month, opening the scoring for the Three Lions in that game.
A stunning performance for Everton against Manchester United on the opening weekend of the Premier League furthered his claims, but Cahill is held in high regard in the England camp, and if he’s his consistent self, he could well be part of a Chelsea backbone to the England team in 2014, should Terry and Cole stick around, along with the forever improving Ryan Bertrand.
Gary Cahill, the world is now your oyster.
By Sean Monaghan
Follow @Sean_Monaghan_