Beckham makes the 30, eyeing the 23 – England/France

England Provisional Squad vs. France (30) 

Goalkeepers (3): David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (Aston Villa), Chris Kirkland (Wigan).

Defenders (10): Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Man Utd), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Jonathan Woodgate (Spurs).

Midfielders (11): Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Jermaine Jenas (Spurs), Owen Hargreaves (Man Utd), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn).

Strikers (6): Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth).

That’s 30 people for an eventual 23-player contingent taking on a pretty powerful French squad consisting of a young core that hasn’t been one to balk at experienced, veteran players like Beckham, Owen, or Terry. Saturday is the day Beckham will find out whether or not he’s part of Capello’s 23 heading to Paris next Wednesday. Beckham is searching for his 100th cap, while of the 30, Gabriel Agbonlahor and David Wheater are the only ones searching for their first. For France, you will get a glimpse of the highly coveted ‘next generation’ Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Karim Benzema as well as the usuals – Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Lillian Thuram, and Patrick Vieira. Domenech has chosen 9 Lyon players and 10 from the EPL (39 overall). That will be shaved down by the weekend as well, so expect some changes. I’ll have a more detailed breakdown as Wednesday draws near.

And yes, it’s true a May 8th match-up of USA and England is confirmed. At new Wembley no less!