• England v Denmark

Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney start for England against Denmark

ESPN staff
March 5, 2014

Ashley Cole has been given a start by England manager Roy Hodgson for the friendly against Denmark at Wembley.

The left-back has lost his place in the Chelsea first team to Cesar Azpilicueta, but Hodgson has picked Cole ahead of Southampton's Luke Shaw and Everton's Leighton Baines.

Cole's England position is under threat from the pair for the World Cup, as Hodgson revealed that one 'big name' could miss out in Rio in the summer.

Meanwhile, Hodgson has named five Liverpool players in the starting line-up, and there is a place for Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, who is not rested despite several reports suggesting he would not start the match.

England starting XI: Hart, Johnson, Cole, Gerrard, Cahill, Smalling, Wilshere, Henderson, Sturridge, Rooney, Sterling.

Substitutes: Shaw, Foster, Baines, Caulker, Carrick, Milner, Lampard, Barkley, Cleverley, Lallana, Ruddy, Forster, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Townsend, Lambert, Defoe, Welbeck, Rodriguez.

Denmark starting XI: Schmeichel, Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, Ankersen, Kvist, Sloth, Poulsen, Larsen, Krohn-Dehli, Bendtner.

Substitutes: Kahlenberg, Bjelland, Kusk, Olsen, Andersen, Zimling, Rasmussen, Delaney, Ankersen, Juelsgård, Lössl, Makienok.

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