Last updated: 5th October 2008
Owen: Could miss out again
England manager Fabio Capello has given a strong hint that he will not select Michael Owen in his 23-man squad on Sunday.
The striker was left out for the trips to Croatia and Andorra and it appears he will also miss out for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
For Capello feels - while the striker is scoring goals - the turbulent times at Newcastle could be affecting confidence.
He said: "I saw him on TV. He's fit enough, but it is not a good moment for Newcastle.
"Sometimes a lot of the results of the club for which a player plays are not good for the confidence.
"I have to decide on 23 players. I do not decide out of sympathy or because I like or dislike players. I decide on who I think is the best player at the moment.
"You can play better if all the team play well. There are three players at Tottenham who are interesting for us but it is not a good moment for them."
He added: "It is not enough only to score goals. It is very important but sometimes one player has not played for 89 minutes and he scores a goal, it is not enough.
"The goals are very important but it is not only the goals."
Theo Walcott was the hat-trick star against Croatia which has raised expectations but Capello believes the teenager must be treated the same as other players.
The Italian said: "After the game with Croatia I said the people will speak about the performance of Walcott. And all the people are waiting to see the same performance. It is not possible. We have to treat Walcott like the other players, normal players.
"Sometimes he will have a fantastic performance, sometimes a normal performance, sometimes not a good performance and sometimes I will substitute him, like other players."
Capello also warned against complacency when they line-up to play Kazakhstan at Wembley on 11th October.
He said: "We have to play like we did against Croatia, the same spirit, the same confidence. I want to see the same at Wembley. It is not important that Kazakhstan are not strong like Croatia.
"You have to play with concentration. Sometimes after one important game you lose the concentration. You feel you are strong, it is an easy game. This is the worst moment for the manager when players think it is an easy game. It is not."
World Cup Group 6 Win Outright: England 1/7| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Fulham vs Man City |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Wigan |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs Chelsea |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Middlesbrough |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Stoke |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Sunderland |
| Sunday 7th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Brom vs Portsmouth |
| 16:00 | Everton vs Aston Villa |
| Monday 8th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | West Ham vs Tottenham |
| Saturday 13th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Middlesbrough vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Liverpool vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Everton |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs West Brom |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Blackburn |
| 17:30 | Tottenham vs Man Utd |
| Sunday 14th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Portsmouth vs Newcastle |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs West Ham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Monday 1st December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 West Ham | |
| Sunday 30th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Portsmouth 3 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Tottenham 0 - 1 Everton | |
| Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 4 Bolton | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Wigan 2 - 1 West Brom | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Stoke 1 - 1 Hull | |
| Monday 24th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 Everton | |
| Sunday 23rd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 1 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Sunderland 0 - 1 West Ham | |
| Saturday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 3 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Portsmouth 2 - 2 Hull | |
| Chelsea 0 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 West Brom | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Man Utd | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 3 Bolton | |
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