I would boo England, admits Gerrard

By Chris Bryant

Steven Gerrard has admitted that he would give England a tough reception against Hungary if he was a fan.

The Liverpool playmaker will lead out the Three Lions at Wembley tonight in their first match since the humiliating 4-1 reverse at the hands of Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Gerrard revealed that he is expecting a "mixed reaction" from the crowd, but when asked if he would boo if he was a supporter, the 30-year-old said: "I probably would, yeah."

"We have to take it on the chin. We deserve it. We let them down in the summer," he added.

Boss Fabio Capello promised a brave new dawn after the debacle in South Africa and has called up young talents such as Arsenal duo Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere.

However, his preparations descended into farce when keeper Paul Robinson and defender Wes Brown both announced their international retirements after being named in the squad.

The goalkeeping situation has worsened with the withdrawal of Birmingham's Ben Foster with a back injury, leading to call ups for the untested Scott Loach of Watford and Blackburn's number three Frankie Fielding.

Manchester United's Michael Carrick was not included in the squad due an expected two-week absence through injury, but then lined up against Chelsea in the Community Shield.

Capello was pictured at Wembley asking Carrick why he did not phone to tell him he was fit, before offering a handshake to Ashley Cole that was apparently snubbed by the England left-back.

Nevertheless, Gerrard welcomed the injection of youth into the squad and revealed that he has been "blown away" by some of the newcomers' performances in training.

"Games like [tonight] are a chance to give kids the opportunity and some experience," he said.

"You can't put a kid out there in a World Cup situation because it's hard enough being an experienced player. But there isn't a tournament for two years, so they have time to bed in."

In addition to Gibbs and Wilshere, players such as Bobby Zamora (Fulham), Michael Dawson (Tottenham) and Adam Johnson (Manchester City) will all be given the chance to shine.

The game against Hungary is England's only chance to experiment before their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign gets underway against Bulgaria at Wembley on September 3rd.