Hodgson to name Euro squad two weeks early

New England manager Roy Hodgson will name his Euro 2012 squad a fortnight ahead of schedule, even though there are plenty of issues still to be resolved.

Fabio Capello’s successor will announce his 23-strong party at 1pm next Wednesday before facing the media at Wembley later that afternoon to explain his selections.

Hodgson could have delayed naming the squad until the Uefa deadline of 29 May but has opted to choose it ahead of a training camp in Spain and friendlies against Norway in Oslo and Belgium at Wembley.

Caretaker manager Stuart Pearce had been prepared to name a provisional squad today if he had still been in charge.

And Hodgson clearly still wants to let his players know as soon as possible so they can start preparing for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Hodgson still has matters to address, including the form of former skipper John Terry, who looked ill at ease playing for Chelsea in Tuesday night’s 4-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Liverpool. He has yet to meet Terry and Rio Ferdinand to determine whether they will feel comfortable being in the same squad – if selected – with Terry accused of racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother, QPR defender Anton, a charge which he denies, during a match at Loftus Road in October last year.

Yesterday, one bookmaker made Terry just 1/4 to fail to make Hodgson’s squad and offered 11/4 that he would be part of the Euros party. “This is the first real issue that Hodgson has had to deal with in his role as England manager and the odds suggest that Rio will get the nod for the Euros with Terry missing out,” said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.

Several positions also have question marks hanging over them with Micah Richards, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all right-back contenders.

Hodgson also has to solve the conundrum of who will play up front, given that Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first two games of the tournament and Darren Bent is unlikely to be fit.

Then there is the issue of the captaincy after Terry was stripped of the armband for the second time. Scott Parker led the side out for Pearce’s solitary match in charge against the Netherlands at Wembley in February.

The squad will meet up on Monday, 21 May and travel to Spain for a training camp. They will fly from Spain to Oslo for the Norway clash on 26 May and then be given two days off before meeting up again on 29 May to begin preparations for the game against Belgium on 2 June. Another two-day break will follow before the squad reconvenes on 5 June, then travels to their Euro 2012 base in Krakow, Poland, the following day.