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Preview: England vs. Estonia

Preview: England vs. Estonia


Preview: England vs. Estonia

England take on Estonia at Wembley in a Euro 2008 Qualifier that England must win. England stylishly overturned Russia and Israel last month, but Estonia will be desperate to cause an upset. McLaren confident in Rooney - Sol gets a start - Terry misses out - Gerrard: I wanted Carra to carry on

After back to back 3-0 victories over Russia and Israel, the importance of this match cannot and should not be underestimated. Estonia are a tough side who will travel to Wembley hopeful of grabbing a historic result.

Injuries

Emile Heskey (metatarsal) will miss out and so will captain John Terry, and Steven Gerrard looks set to take the armband.

Sol Campbell makes his return to international football after an excellent start to the season with Portsmouth, and the injury to John Terry fast-tracks him back into the England setup.

David Beckham remains a casualty for England since injuring himself in action for LA Galaxy.

Estonia also have a headache of their own with star striker Andreas Oper missing as he is sidelined for two months with a hamstring problem.

Central Midfield

McLaren's big selection headache will be in the centre of the midfield where Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick will miss out - but - Gareth Barry could continue to fill in as Frank Lampard could remain out of favour. Gareth Barry and Steven Gerrard formed an excellent partnership in the previous two qualification games.

Much speculation has arisen regarding the future of calamitous goalkeeper Paul Robinson, but the Tottenham keeper has kept clean sheets in his last five international games, so McLaren is likely to stick with the Spurs man.

Eyefootball International Predictor

England 4-0 Estonia

This one will be easy for England. Wayne Rooney is one for the big occasion and he will prove undaunted today as he looks to break his international goalscoring jinx. The duo of Owen and Rooney will be far too much for Estonia, who are missing their only attacking outlet Andreas Oper. The midfield will contain Gareth Barry and Steven Gerrard and these two are far too solid for Estonia.

Prediction: 4-0 to England

Goalscorer: Wayne Rooney