England manager Roy Hodgson named his 23 players squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Monday, with Southampton's left-back Luke Shaw taking the place of Ashley Cole.
Hodgson admitted he has taken a gamble by selecting Shaw, who only has 45 minutes of international football under his name, and if his number one left-back Leighton Baines got injured, his selection could prove to be a "very bad decision".
"Ashley is a No1 man. When I decided Baines might be my No1, I decided the next one would be Luke Shaw. Circumstances could make the decision a very good one or a very bad one. An injury [for Baines] against Peru would make the selection of Shaw a very bad selection."
Manchester United's Michael Carrick has been left out from the original 23-member squad and has been named in the seven-player standby list along with fellow midfielder Tom Cleverley.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilsher, United's defender Phil Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all overcame injuries scares to be named in the 23-man list.
There are no uncapped players in Hodgson's squad, but the England manager has named seven under-23 players, including Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and Shaw, in his squad for the World Cup finals.
The England manager said it is a "Catch-22 situation" for the Three Lions and youngsters have earned their places in the squad by performing well with their respective clubs.
"So many players have burst onto the scene since we qualified. They've imposed themselves upon me," Hodgson explained. "They've played so well and done so well and been so effective in their club teams and had such success, that I think they've really imposed themselves and their ability on my thinking."
"How do you get experience? By being given the opportunity. Those six who have been to World Cups before, once upon a time, they didn't have experience either. It's a Catch-22 situation," he said.
Hodgson believes that England has experienced players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Leighton Baines and they are heading into the World Cup with a right blend of experience and youth.
"I think that the balance is still very good. Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney - all of these players have got plenty of caps between them," Hodgson said. "So it would be wrong to focus totally on the fact that there are some out there who are young and less experienced."
The squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (England), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Strikers: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).
Standby: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).
