There’s no greater feeling for a soccer player than getting the call from your National Team coach, giving you a spot on the roster. For Charlie Austin, Tom Heaton and Jamie Vardy, this dream has finally become a reality. But, they will have limited time to show their worth to the England National Team as they only have two games before a new roster is picked.
With limited time these three have to work ten times harder than everyone else out there to show Hodgson they have what it takes to stay on the team past these two games. Charlie Austin has the best chance of starting due to his amazing season in England, having scored double digits in goals and overall a consistent player all season. He may not get a chance to start but i'm sure if anything we will get to see Charlie Austin play at least 20 minutes if he comes on as a sub, and that’s when he will have to show he deserves to stick around by showing his worth in a real game scenario.
Jamie Vardy has it a little bit harder than Austin. Although he doesn't have the goal tally Austin or Rooney have, he does have the instinct and mindset to be a game-changer up top — whether he’s knockin them in himself or setting up a brilliant goal for a teammate. He has a keen eye and awareness for where his teammates are in the box. A key factor that could help Vardy in the end is his contribution to dropping back and helping out defensively. That attribute can only help the forward cement a spot on the roster for years to come.
The Hardest position to get a hold of is the starting goalkeeper. Tom Heaton will have to use his experience as well as quick reflexes to out-wit Joe Hart and steal the coveted starting position. His only chance to show his worth will probably be in training and with the likes of Rooney, Sterling, Walcott, Austin and Vardy all trying to score and show their worth, Heaton looks to have his work cut out for him as those players will work him to the brim and if he holds his own he could be holding a starting position come game time.
Charlie Austin, probably the most expected pick for the upcoming friendlies, is in the prime years of his career. His stats from the past Premier League season with Queens Park Rangers show why, as he scored 18 goals from 79 shots in 35 games and achieved player of the month back in December when he scored five goals in five games.
Austin’s spot on the roster may have been a long time coming. England National Team coach Roy Hodgson had this to say after calling him up: “We’ve had our eyes on Austin but up to this point we have had the full quota of forward players.”
Leicester City's 2013-2014 player of the season, and the main reason for their promotion to the Premier League, Jamie Vardy, has also earned himself a contending spot on the National Team roster. With an overall average season compared to fellow call up Charlie Austin, Vardy scored five goals from 40 shots in 36 games this term. His most impressive outing came against Manchester United when Vardy scored his first goal of the season and assisted Leicester city’s other four goals to help spur a comeback that saw Leicester beat the Red Devils 5-3 at the final whistle. It didn’t hurt his chances of a spot on England’s squad that Vardy was a contender for the Premier League's player of the month in April.
Like Austin, Jamie Vardy has been a potential target for the National Team for some time now. Roy Hodgson said, “I watched him at Fleetwood and know he had the pace and desire to run in behind players, which is always an interesting quality for coaches and have seen his performance in the latter part of the season with Leicester.”
While claiming a spot on your national team is feat all on its own, to claim a goalkeeper spot is on a whole other level. At the ripe age of 29 (admittedly, still young for a keeper), Tom Heaton has had quite the career in England having already played for nine different clubs. Manchester United may have been the pinnacle of his career, as Heaton came up through their youth ranks as to the first team before being loaned. Eventually, he landed at Burnley by way of Bristol City, and he has made 83 appearances for the club.
Heaton had a great season in the Premier League with Burnley this year, with 10 clean sheets and more than 100 saves made during the course of the 40 game season. Heaton brings skill, class and loads of experience to the goalkeeping department of the National Team. Unfortunately, Joe Hart (Manchester City) and Robert Green (Queens Park Rangers) are also contending for England’s number one with Joe Hart in the lead for the starting position. Nonetheless, it is an honor to be selected on the same roster as some of the best players in the world and it’s up to Heaton to cement a spot on the roster for years to come.
In the end, while Austin, Vardy and Heaton have all been handed the chance to play for their National Team, they’re only on the roster for two games unless they prove otherwise. Will Austin and Vardy step up and show Hodgson they have what it takes to knock in the important goals? Will Heaton prove his experience and skill is enough to take the number 1 spot away from Joe Hart? All questions will be answered on June 7th and June 14th when England take on the Republic of Ireland and Slovenia, respectively, in back-to-back matches.
