On the eve of England’s first warm-up match for the World Cup another member of the England set-up has expressed his disappointment at Paul Scholes’s decision to not make himself available for selection – England captain, Rio Ferdinand.
Scholes who has been capped 66 times for England has previously appeared in two World Cups – 1998 and 2002, scoring one goal in the finals in 1998 against Tunisia. He has been retired from international football since August 2004, and talk of his return to the scene frequently pops up around competition times.
Fabio Capello admitted that he approached Paul Scholes and asked him to become part of his 30 man provisional World Cup squad. Scholes turned down the offer citing family as his main reason. Scholes has enjoyed a fantastic return to form this season just ended, in particular he seemed to have a real impact upon Manchester United in the last few months of the season, culminating in a goal-scoring masterclass away at rivals, Manchester City.
Rio Ferdinand is upset Scholes will not be in South Africa believing he would have added to England’s chances of success; even go so far as to say, “I would have paid him to come. That’s no detriment to any of the other players who are here, but I think he would have added to the squad that we’ve got”. Ferdinand did go on to say that while it is a shame, there is no point contemplating Scholes’s decision any longer and that the squad must focus on their upcoming game against Mexico tonight.
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Tags: Doron, England, Man United, Manchester United, Paul Scholes, Scholes, World Cup
