David Beckham: From Hero to Zero

England take on Japan for the second time in four months after beating the Samurai Blues 2-0 in a friendly back in August, David Beckham's first game in charge.

Captain Wayne Rooney is injured and unavailable, thus Phil Jones will step up to take charge of the Three Lions for this fixture.

Bayern Munich full-back Ryan Garland holds onto his place in the team and so does his teammate Jack Grealish. The last Bayern man to make the squad is former Aston Villa midfielder Will Hughes.

As expected, Tom Huddlestone is left out of the team following his unimpressive form for Liverpool in the Premier League so far. Meanwhile, Leighton Baines makes a return to the team having missed out in the fixtures against Wales and Northern Ireland due to injury.

With Rooney out, Celtic forward Gabby Agbonlahor is also given a chance to step up. The 32-year-old has only 11 England caps to his name but his form for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League this season has been excellent, prompting a call-up.

England Squad

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Fraser Forster (Celtic)
Alex Smithies (West Bromwich)

Defenders

Kyle Walker (Tottenham)
Ryan Garland (Bayern Munich)
Phil Jones (Tottenham)
Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
Martin Kelly (Manchester City)
Steven Caulker (Liverpool)
Leighton Baines (Manchester United)
Kyle Naughton (Newcastle)

Midfielders

Jonjo Shelvey (Manchester United)
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Will Hughes (Bayern Munich)
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Aston Villa)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Tom Ince (Newcastle)
Jack Grealish (Bayern Munich)

Forwards

Andy Carroll (Stoke City)
Colin Maddison (Nottingham Forest)
Gabby Agbonlahor (Celtic)

I can't help but laugh when I look at your three forwards: Andy Carroll, Colin Maddison, and Gabby Agbonlahor XD Good enough of a squad to defeat Japan, I think. Nice update, keep it up!

2013-05-25 13:13#104702 neal09 : I can't help but laugh when I look at your three forwards: Andy Carroll, Colin Maddison, and Gabby Agbonlahor XD Good enough of a squad to defeat Japan, I think. Nice update, keep it up!

To be fair Maddison has been pretty epic. Agbonlahor and Carroll are shite though. At least I have some good midfielders

Bayern boss David Beckham is under fire with Munich officials reportedly growing frustrated with the club's form in the Bundesliga and their position in the league table.

Bayern sit 6th in the Bundesliga with 20 points taken from 11 games, 7 points away from league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

However, fans have called for the board to be patient with the 43-year-old, and Bayern legend Franz Beckenbauer has also called for chairman Karl-Heinz Rumenigge to be patient with Beckham, who also holds the England national team job.

"I think David has been trying his best," Beckenbauer told German reporters. "My point is, it is going to be very stupid sacking David and then getting another Rafa Benitez in. We should give him time."

Bayern Munich will face Werder Bremen tomorrow with Beckham knowing his job will be on the line if the result is anything less than a win.

Don't worry, good ol' David will pull through

2013-05-25 13:55#104709 The Special one : Don't worry, good ol' David will pull through

Good ol' David has to or good ol' Rumenigge is gonna sack him

Haha don't get sacked! Beckham deserves better than that

2013-05-25 13:59#104714 neal09 : Haha don't get sacked! Beckham deserves better than that

Thankfully there's an option called Save and Load

David Beckham won't get fired. He will become a Bayern Legend! Not the best result against Northern Ireland :p

2013-05-25 14:46#104733 k1rups : David Beckham won't get fired. He will become a Bayern Legend! Not the best result against Northern Ireland :p

Hey, Northern Ireland are a good team too!

Bayern Munich's star midfielder Toni Kroos will be out for 3 months following the torn hamstring he suffered in the match against Wolfsburg, Bayern officials have confirmed.

This will be a devastating blow for Die Bayern as they aim to recapture form and close the gap between themselves and the top of the league.

In his 13 league appearances so far for the Bavarians, Kroos has scored 6 as well as setting up 5 goals.

The 28-year-old is believed by many to be Bayern's most important player and now he will not be available for selection until presumably February.

"It's a huge disappointment of course," Kroos said later on. "But I am not worrying about how Bayern will fare without me."

When asked why, he simply replied, "There are many at Bayern who can do the job. It's not only me. There are people like Jack and Mattheus. I'm not worrying because I believe they can help Bayern as much as I can. It's not about me, it's about the team.

"It will be tough sitting on the sidelines but I guess now all I can do is be a fan and cheer for them. I really hope I come back when the club is in a better league position and I'm confident I will return stronger than I was before."

Damn, Kroos is a great player. 3 months is a long time.

2013-05-25 16:56#104775 Mickzter97 : Damn, Kroos is a great player. 3 months is a long time.

Stating the obvious is not helping

Thanks for the comment, Mick!

The best player last season for you, a huge miss! This will be a real test of Beckham's managerial ability

2013-05-25 16:57#104778 k1rups : The best player last season for you, a huge miss! This will be a real test of Beckham's managerial ability

Well, there's still Ademilson, who just scored a hat trick for me in game as we speak