Pearce made to go without as Capello eyes extra cover

Although it was always felt unlikely Capello would be able to persuade Robert Green to make himself available for the seniors’ Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland on June 4, Pearce had been banking on having Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll in his squad for the European Under-21 Championships.

In the end, Pearce has been left without either player, while the absence of Green means Capello will be desperately short of goalkeeping cover for No 1 Joe Hart ahead of a game England need to win to retain command over their own destiny in Group G.

He will have Wilshere though, unlike Pearce, who had made it quite clear he wanted the Arsenal youngster in his squad and the teenager himself had expressed a desire to be involved.

However, it seems the repeatedly-expressed reservations of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger have concentrated minds, with Pearce confirming Wilshere had asked to be omitted.

“I spoke to Jack last week and he explained that while he told me in March that he wanted to be part of the squad, he now feels he is not in the best condition to take part in the finals,” said a disappointed Pearce.

“That is based on the number of games he has played for Arsenal this season, sports science data which Jack was presented with last week and concerns he has for his fitness looking ahead to next season.

“Jack has always expressed his enjoyment at being involved with the Under-21 squad, and while I am disappointed not to have him with us for the finals I’ve accepted the situation.”

He added: “I am very conscious of the importance of looking after all our players, and that is why I have frequent conversations with club managers throughout the season.

“I believe that representing your country in international development tournaments can be a great advantage to players, and increases the chances of being successful at senior level.”

There was always some doubt over the participation of Carroll, who missed Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa through an injury that will not recover in time to make the finals in Denmark.

Carroll’s absence is also a blow to Capello, who has been forced to bring Bobby Zamora back into his squad even though Fulham manager Mark Hughes said on Sunday his No 1 target-man was not fit enough for international duty.

“I don’t think he is ready for any games at the end of the year,” said Hughes.

“He needs a full pre-season and once the Premier League has started again I would imagine he would be very much in the England manager’s mind.”

As for Green, Capello will have another attempt to persuade the West Ham goalkeeper to feature in the August friendly with Holland, by which time the recent birth of his child and the pain of relegation with West Ham will not be at the forefront of his mind.

However, with Ben Foster standing down indefinitely, Capello has an extreme lack of options in the goalkeeping department.

Either way, with Scott Carson, whose only competitive appearance was the dismal Euro 2008 qualifier with Croatia, and Fulham No 2 David Stockdale as back-up, Capello will be crossing his fingers nothing happens to Joe Hart.

Also included were Manchester United duo Rio Ferdinand, picked for the first time since he was replaced as captain by John Terry, and Michael Carrick, who has not figured since not playing a minute at the World Cup. Wayne Rooney misses out through suspension.

Pearce’s squad for the finals was as expected when taking into account Wilshere and Carroll.

There were four players with senior-level experience: Manchester City’s Micah Richards, Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs, Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck and Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson.

Goalkeeper Frank Fielding, Michael Mancienne, Chris Smalling and Kyle Walker have all also been involved in the senior team set-up.

The Under-21 campaign begins on June 12 against Spain. They then meet Ukraine three days later and finish their Group B fixtures against Czech Republic.

The semi-finals and final take place the following week.

England’s final warm-up friendly before they fly to Denmark is against Norway at St Mary’s on June 5, less than 24 hours after the senior side play Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.

England’s squad for their Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday, June 4: Carson (West Brom), Hart (Man City), Stockdale (Fulham); Baines (Everton), Cahill (Bolton), Cole (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Jagielka (Everton), G Johnson (Liverpool), Lescott (Man City), Terry (Chelsea), Walker (Tottenham); Barry (Man City), Carrick (Man Utd), Downing (Aston Villa), A Johnson (Man City), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Man City), Parker (West Ham), Walcott (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), A Young (Aston Villa); Bent (Aston Villa), Crouch (Tottenham), Defoe (Tottenham), Zamora (Fulham).

England Under-21s squad for the UEFA Championship in Denmark next month: Fielding (Derby), Steele (Middlesbrough), McCarthy (Reading); Bertrand (Chelsea), Gibbs (Arsenal), Jones (Blackburn), Mancienne (Chelsea), Richards (Man City), Smalling (Man Utd), Walker (Tottenham); Albrighton (Aston Villa), Cork (Chelsea), Cleverley (Man Utd), Henderson (Sunderland), Lansbury (Arsenal), Muamba (Bolton), Rodwell (Everton), Rose (Tottenham); Sinclair (Swansea), Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Sturridge (Chelsea), Welbeck (Man Utd), Wickham (Ipswich).