David James has played down the fact he has been handed the number one shirt by England coach Fabio Capello for England’s 2010 World Cup campaign (20/1, All 3 English goalkeepers to play during the tournament).
The veteran is fighting it out with West Ham’s Robert Green and Manchester City’s Joe Hart for the honour, with the battle the closest in years as Capello keeps his cards close to his chest.
James, Green and Hart have all been given game time by the Italian ahead of the Group C opener against USA in Rustenburg on Saturday as he keeps everyone guessing and on their toes (England 4/9 to win – 90 Minutes).
And James insists he is paying little attention to the fact he has been handed the number one jersey with Green set to wear 12 and Hart 23.
The former Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City man said: “I genuinely believe England are going to be successful, I want that above everything else. I want to be part of that success so I want to be number one.”
James added in the Daily Mirror: “A long time ago I stopped trying to second-guess people. I get stressed about Portsmouth losing and so I haven’t burdened myself with the extra stress of wondering what’s in the mind of Fabio Capello.
“I don’t think about the numerical position in the squad. It may be that the number one is the fittest and plays, but the idea is that all three are out there, trying their best to be the number one.”
Capello has included Joe Cole, Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon in his ‘first XI’ in terms of numbers and it remains to be seen if the 63-year-old has shown his hand or not.
Cole, who will leave Chelsea this summer, admits he is desperate to start the tournament in England’s side.
He said: “It’s a great feeling being at a World Cup. I love coming away for these tournaments.
“I remember how excited I was for my first World Cup (in 2002). It was new and amazing. I still have that hunger and it would mean the world to me to play against America.
The main thing is that we get the result because the first game of the tournament is so important.”
Ahead of the game, USA coach Bob Bradley insists he has not formulated any rough-house tactics for Wayne Rooney whose temperament was again questioned following his yellow card against the Platinum Stars on Monday in the Three Lions’ final warm-up game (7/2 – Rooney to receive a red card during the tournament).
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Italy will wait a week before deciding whether to call up an emergency replacement for midfielder Andrea Pirlo.