England’s, Number One! England’s, England’s Number One!

It’s a chant that regularly rings out at football grounds up and down the country but with just a few months to go until England head out to South Africa, the all important number one shirt remains up for grabs.

A number of different goalkeepers have been given the opportunity to impress national boss Fabio Capello but a clear front runner is yet to emerge. These are just a few of the players hoping to catch the Italian’s eye:

David James (Portsmouth)

At 39 James is no spring chicken but he has started the majority of Capello’s England matches and looks to be the strongest of a comparatively weak line up. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa keeper has been known to drop the odd clanger in the past and at one point even earned the nickname ‘calamity James’. However the errors seem to have become more infrequent in recent years and James’s wealth of experience may just earn him a starting spot.

Rob Green (West Ham)

Hammers keeper Green has enjoyed a steady rise to prominence since making his mark during Norwich’s one season before relegation from the Premier League. The 29 year old deputised for David James during recent World Cup qualifiers with Croatia and Ukraine but did himself no favours in Dnipro by getting sent off after just 13 minutes.

Ben Foster (Manchester United)

Foster good football betting odds to be a future England number one after a highly successful loan spell at Watford during the 2006-07 season. He was given his chance at Manchester United at the start of this campaign, courtesy of an injury to regular number one Edwin Van Der Sar but failed to impress, making a number of high profile blunders.

Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)

Along with David James, Paul Robinson is the only player in this list to have played for England at an international tournament, having taken the number one spot at the last World Cup. Unfortunately for the 30 year old, his career has stalled somewhat since then, as a series of error-strewn displays saw him first lose his national spot to David James and then dropped and sold by club side Tottenham Hotspur.

‘Robbo’ has enjoyed a minor resurgence at Blackburn but will do well to even make the squad this time out.

Manuel Almunia (Arsenal)

A man born and bred in Spain, may not sound like the most obvious candidate but having fulfilled FIFA’s residency rules, Manuel Almunia is eligible turn out for the Three Lions. As first choice keeper at one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, Almunia would appear to be a viable option but with Capello in charge the idea may be a non-starter.

“Almunia, for me, is Spanish,” said the England boss before a recent international match.

“He is Spanish and he plays for the Arsenal team.”

Gareth Freeman writes for Betfair, the world’s best betting exchange. Get the latest insider scoop on all your favorite leagues at Betfair today!