It feels no better today. A nightmare moment for Robert Green cost England against the USA.

It was a frustrating night for England in Rustenburg. Ledley King struggled through the first half with a groin strain before being substituted at half time for Jamie Carragher. The lack of pace at the back will be a problem for England in this tournament and they were defending too deep inviting long shots on as a result. It was Clint Dempsey’s long range effort that led to Green’s howler.

This will be a big test of character for Rob Green, he was saying the right things after the game. He was attacked by the press today, the News of the World dubbing it ‘the hand of clod’ and several papers referring to him as a calamity. Only time will tell whether Capello will stick by him. One bad mistake does not make him a bad goalkeeper and David James who would most likely step in if Green was dropped has been guilty of a series of clangers during his career.

Heskey had a solid game for England but with him playing up top and Rooney coming deeper, Wayne failed to get into the game. We can only hope that the return of Gareth Barry creates a more balanced team with Gerrard pushing forward to support Rooney.

In the other group game Algeria play Slovenia at 12.30. A draw would probably be the best result for England, if Slovenia win we could have to play them in the last group game level on points with three teams potentially finishing on 5 points.

Transfer news

Sunderland have been linked to a move for Matthew Upson.

West Ham are still chasing the signing of Everton’s Yakubu.

After completing the signing of 28 year old midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger yesterday on a 3 year deal, West Ham are back to focusing on their need for new strikers after Franco, Mido and Ilan were released.

West Ham had a bid of £4 million rejected by Everton for the 27 year old forward and according to the Sunday Mirror Everton won’t consider less than £6 million for the player they paid Middlesbrough £11.25 million for in 2007.

Yakubu is one of those players that always seems to cause West Ham problems but can he do it in the claret & blue? He made an explosive start to his career for the toffees, “Feed the Yak and he will score” Everton supporters sang at Upton Park as he notched up 21 goals in 41 appearances.

Injuries though have severely hampered Yakubu in recent times. Over the last 2 seasons he made 35 appearances in the league scoring 9 goals and scored 6 goals in all competitions over 29 appearances during the past season.

West Ham are expected to increase their bid this week.

In a Sky Sports understands moment Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the World Cup after being injured in training on Friday.

Ferdinand injured his knee in a clash with Emile Heskey. It was first thought he suffered ligament damage and he left the hospital close to England’s training ground on crutches after going for a scan. It has now been confirmed he is out of the tournament with Steven Gerrard taking the captain’s arm band. Ferdinand’s place in the squad will go to Michael Dawson who will fly out to South Africa tonight.

Rio had missed much of the season for Manchester United through injury so this will be a bitter blow for him. He was lacking form as a result and although he is a big player with normally great positional sense this could yet be a blessing in disguise for England.

Ledley King will probably be the favourite to take his place as he appears to be favoured by Capello at the moment and has the experience of playing in Euro 2004 for England. Matthew Upson was a regular in the squad during qualifying and must be in with a shout, especially as there will be questions marks over King’s ability to play back to back games with his chronic knee problems.

More on this story on the forum

Robert Green looks set to miss out for England.

England’s squad numbers were announced today and David James has been listed as number 1. This will be a huge disappointment for Green who had played 8 of the last 10 games for England. Former keeper Peter Shilton who is England’s most capped player with 125 caps had given his public backing to Green.

He said: “David James is obviously the most experienced, and he should really be in the position where he is the number one – there is no dispute about that. He’s been there and got the T-shirt, but he has never totally convinced.

“Whereas Robert Green is someone who I would put in front – though not by a lot. He’s played more games over the last year to 18 months, and he’s not had too many mad moments. He’s made the odd little error here and there, but he has gradually improved.

“He looks a lot more confident than he did when he first got in the England team. He looks more assured. He’s developing in the right way. I think he deserves the chance. Obviously he has struggled a bit at West Ham this season, but that was as part of the team. I don’t think he ever really lost form or fell apart at any point.”

Fabio Capello had previously commented that he knew who his first choice goalkeeper would be for the world cup at a time when James had been playing, suggesting there was no way in for any other keeper to dislodge him. Green’s run in the side then cast doubt over this but it seems Capello is sticking to experience this tournament.

Peter Crouch was handed the number 9 shirt indicating Capello plans on starting with the Tottenham striker who had largely been used as an impact sub in qualifying ahead of Emile Heskey.

England squad numbers

1 David James; 2 Glen Johnson; 3 Ashley Cole; 4 Steven Gerrard; 5 Rio Ferdinand; 6 John Terry; 7 Aaron Lennon; 8 Frank Lampard; 9 Peter Crouch; 10 Wayne Rooney; 11 Joe Cole; 12 Robert Green; 13 Stephen Warnock; 14 Gareth Barry; 15 Matthew Upson; 16 James Milner; 17 Shaun Wright-Phillips; 18 Jamie Carragher; 19 Jermain Defoe; 20 Ledley King; 21 Emile Heskey; 22 Michael Carrick; 23 Joe Hart.

The Sun and The Mirror are both reporting today that Stoke City have bid £12 million for Carlton Cole

Last week it was reported that Cole had begged David Sullivan not to sell him. Cole had been in the England squad but his poor form towards the end of the season saw him pushed out of the frame.

Tony Pulis seems to take a shine to our players, he bid for James Collins before he moved to Villa and has been linked to a move for Mark Noble this summer. Former hammer Matthew Etherington was Stoke’s player of the season last year.

West Ham have valued Carlton Cole at £15 million but Dave Kitson may be used as a bargaining tool. Thirty year old Kitson fell out with Pulis over criticism about his commitment which led to Kitson’s infamous rant “It’s like I’m responsible for everything. Cloudy in Stoke? That’s Kitson’s fault. The traffic’s terrible on the way to training? Blame Kitson for that too.”