The England thread

[Lineker]

Steven Caulker has had his ban lifted at a Uefa appeal into October's racism-affected Under-21 qualifier between England and Serbia, but team-mate Tom Ince's suspension has been upheld.

Tottenham defender Caulker, 21, had been given a two-game ban but will now instead do a day's community service.

Blackpool winger Ince, 21, will still miss England's European Under-21 Championship opener this summer.

And Serbia Under-21s will now play two competitive games behind closed doors.

Caulker and Ince, as well as four players and two coaches from Serbia, were originally handed bans after ugly scenes marred the end of the play-off second leg in Krusevac.

England had won the match 1-0 to to complete a 2-0 aggregate victory which ensured their qualification for June's finals in Israel.

The scuffles followed racist chanting from some Serb fans towards England players.

Uefa's original disciplinary panel also fined the Serbian Football Asscociation £65,000 and ordered them to play only one competitive Under-21 match in an empty stadium.

Their fitness coach Andreja Milutinovic also had his punishment doubled - from one year to two - while player Nikola Ninkovic will serves three matches on the sidelines rather than two.

The original sanctions were widely viewed as being overly lenient and an appeal panel hearing was convened at the governing body's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Ince and Caulker were joined at the appeal on Friday by their manager Stuart Pearce and two FA legal representatives.

[DavidMarrio]

Any reason why Ince's ban was upheld and Caulker's wasn't?

[Colly]

Racism. Or because they were two separate charges.

[Lineker]

Ben Foster has come out of international retirement, as has made himself available for next month's World Cup qualifiers in San Marino and Montenegro.

[Lineker]

Rio Ferdinand has been recalled to the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

The Manchester United defender's last England appearance was in the 2-2 draw against Switzerland in June 2011.

Ferdinand, 34, has 81 caps, having made his debut against Cameroon in 1997.

"He's playing well, his team are doing extremely well and this is the moment to select him because he deserves it on current form," said Hodgson.

"Hopefully he can help us win the next two matches because that's the most important thing."

Goalkeeper Ben Foster, 29, is also named for the first time since asking former manager Fabio Capello not to pick him in May 2011.

"When you have a goalkeeper of Ben Foster's stature it's a great pity he's not available. I think for Ben it's just good he's decided after a long absence that he wants to play again," Hodgson added.

Tottenham Hotspur duo Scott Parker, 32, and Michael Dawson, 29, are also recalled.

Dawson's last international appearance was against Wales in March 2011. It is the first time he has been selected by Roy Hodgson.

Injury problems have kept Parker out of the England set-up since last summer's European Championship finals.

Ferdinand's England career had looked over after he was left out of the squad for those Euros in Poland and the Ukraine.

Hodgson stated he was leaving Ferdinand at home for "footballing reasons" and was reported to have told tube travellers Ferdinand's England career was over in October 2012.

The England manager later denied making the comment.

Hodgson said Ferdinand could feature at the World Cup final in Brazil in 2014.

He added: "You select players because you think they're capable of doing the job you want them to do.

"Rio is the right man to help us in these games. I can't make guarantees for the future - 2014 is a long way off - but if he's playing like he is now he'll be a candidate to be in the squad."

England play San Marino on Friday, 22 March, before travelling to Montenegro on Tuesday, 26 March in a game which could dictate who wins Group H.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Foster, Hart, Forster.

Defenders: Baines, Cahill, Cole, Dawson, Ferdinand, Johnson, Smalling, Walker.

Midfielders: Carrick, Cleverley, Gerrard, Lampard, Lennon, Milner, Osman, Parker, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Young.

Strikers: Defoe, Rooney, Sturridge, Welbeck.

[Lineker]

Manager Stuart Pearce names uncapped Tottenham midfielder Tom Carroll in his 28-man squad for England U-21's double-header against Romania at Wycombe on 21 March and Austria at Brighton on 25 March.

England U21 squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Ben Amos (Manchester United), Jack Butland (Birmingham City, on loan from Stoke City), Declan Rudd (Preston North End, on loan from Norwich City), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough).

Defenders: Ryan Bennett (Norwich City), Steven Caulker (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Craig Dawson (Bolton, on loan from West Brom), Tom Lees (Leeds United, Jack Robinson (Wolverhampton Wanderers, on loan from Liverpool), Danny Rose (Sunderland, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Adam Smith (Millwall, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Andre Wisdom (Liverpool).

Midfielders: Tom Carroll (Tottenham Hotspur), Nat Chalobah (Watford, on loan from Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest), Jason Lowe (Blackburn Rovers), Josh McEachran (Middlesbrough, on loan from Chelsea), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Queens Park Rangers, on loan from Tottenham).

Forwards: Nathan Delfouneso (Blackpool, on loan from Aston Villa), Tom Ince (Blackpool), Marvin Sordell (Bolton Wanderers), Connor Wickham (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Sunderland), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, on loan from Manchester United).

[Matt]

Sigh. Bringing back ferdinand is silly, he isn't going to be able to play at the world cup, caulker would make more sense :/

[MDK]

Team I'd like to see against San Marino:

Foster

Baines, Johnson,

Carrick, Gerrard, Lampard

Defoe, Rooney, Sturridge, Welbeck, Walcott

I've been reading Inverting the Pryamid, it may have changed my view on formations a little >_>

[Lineker]

Sigh. Bringing back ferdinand is silly, he isn't going to be able to play at the world cup, caulker would make more sense :/

Caulker hasn't been playing regularly for us recently, tbf.

[Jimmy]

Really happy for Dawson! Well deserved.

[Matt]

Sigh. Bringing back ferdinand is silly, he isn't going to be able to play at the world cup, caulker would make more sense :/

Caulker hasn't been playing regularly for us recently, tbf.

Neither has Smalling but he's in the squad. At least he'd get the experience of being in the squad and could play in the world cup next summer

[Kingmaker]

Why can't Rio play in next Summer's World Cup?

[Summers]

He's already booked his holiday. Golden Sands in Cornwall. Non-refundable.

[Matt]

Why can't Rio play in next Summer's World Cup?

He'll be 35 by then. If he can't play 2 games a week now then he's not going to be able to next year.

[Adam]

I somewhat agree with Matt but Roy Hodgson makes a couple of good points regarding Ferdinand's inclusion - he is bang in form right now and if he plays at a high standard for another 18 months he could easily go to the World Cup.

I'd rather not see players like Ferdinand brought back into the international team but it's hard to argue with Roy on this one.

[supergrass]

Why would Ferdinand not be worthy of inclusion even if he can't go to the World Cup? The qualifiers are now, so you pick the best players we have available now.

Then when the World Cup comes around, you pick the best and most in form players then. There are a number of friendlies to be played where Hodgson can look at new defensive partnerships. For now it's a better idea to pick the best players who can actually get us to the World Cup.

[MDK]

San Marino might as well be a friendly.

[The Future]

I love Rio but I do agree with Matt, even if he is class I think it's better off to give someone like Shawcross a chance instead it's more likely to encourage him to kick on and improve further in time for the World Cup.

[Lineker]

Friendlies are competitive. San Marino is an exhibition!

[Lineker]

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has hinted that it is not completely certain Rio Ferdinand will join up with England next week.

Ferdinand was selected by Roy Hodgson yesterday for this month's World Cup qualifiers with San Marino and Montenegro, the first time he has been called up by the current England boss since he took charge just before Euro 2012.

"I was as surprised as anyone when I heard," Ferguson said.

On Rio Ferdinand's England call-up, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: ""I need to speak to the (United) doctor because we prepare Rio Ferdinand in a certain way and there are certain treatments he has to go through.

"He has to make sure he is going to be OK in terms of the number of games he plays. We have been doing that for two years and it has worked. We have to look at all these things before Rio decides (if he joins up)."