West Ham striker Andy Carroll has today spoken of his desire to work his way back into the England squad as soon as possible, starting with Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016 in France in the summer.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Carroll stated, “I’d love to be at the Euros at the end of the season”. Whilst this looks unlikely on current form, it is worth remembering that the big man has only recently returned from a long term injury. He may not have scored many this season for West Ham, but has put in a few good performances and got the winner against Chelsea earlier in the season.
Is there any justification for Carroll to make the squad?
Whilst Carroll isn’t as technically gifted as some of the other strikers that are available to Roy Hodgson, he certainly gives defenders something to think about and is a good plan B when everything else isn’t working. When Carroll is on form, he could give even the best International defenders a torrid time if thrown on with 15-20 minutes left to play.
Carroll has experience with the national team, 4 years ago he scored in a Euro 2016 group match against Sweden and has nine caps for the national side. However, with the likes of Vardy, Kane, Rooney, Sturridge, Welbeck (if fit) and Berahino all potentially ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment, it seems unlikely for Andy Carroll to get his wish.
One thing is for definite. Carroll needs to start scoring again for his club, and stay injury free for the remainder of the season. If he can be the man that gets us into the top 6, then I’m sure it will be difficult for the England coaching team to ignore him. The same goes for Aaron Cresswell, Mark Noble and even James Tomkins, who all must feel slightly hard done by having not been capped for their country as of yet.
