Wilfried Zaha Gets First England Call Up

20 year old Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha has been called up to the England squad for the forthcoming friendly against Sweden. Zaha is also eligible to play for the Ivory Coast, and has expressed some desire to do so, but for now he will ply his trade for England. An appearance in the friendly will not affect which nationality he goes on to represent as it is not a competitive game, but many will be hoping he chooses to stick with England.

The youngster is one of the hottest properties in british football, and has played almost 100 games for Palace, scoring 11 goals. Linked with big money moves to the premier league, Roy Hodgson will be hoping to tie him to the England squad, and his plans for the future, as he looks to young talent for the mainstay of his squad.

The news follows the call up of Carl Jenkinson (who was also eligible to play for Finland) and Leon Osman, who will hope to become one of the oldest debutantes in England history in the midweek fixture.