England names 2014 World Cup squad

England manager Roy Hodgson named the 23 players who will be tasked with representing the Three Lions at the 2014 World Cup next month in Brazil, revealing his squad during a highly-anticipated press conference on Monday.

Despite the presence of some established veterans, this England squad does have an enticing element of youth to it, particularly in midfield with the likes of Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will be on the plane to Brazil, as the 35-year-old has been included in the squad at the expense of Michael Carrick, who seems to have been the victim of Manchester United's abysmal campaign.

As expected, veteran left-back Ashley Cole was not included in the squad, a decision which has led to his retirement from international competition. 

With the grizzled defender being excluded from the team, the door opened up for Southampton youngster Luke Shaw, who will be a part of football's showpiece event at the tender age of 18. He is one of three players that will be representing Mauricio Pochettino's team, as Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert also received the nod from Hodgson.

Here's the full squad:

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Brom), Fraser Forster (Celtic)

Defenders

*Phil Jones (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Leighton Baines (Everton), Luke Shaw (Southampton)

*Hodgson confirmed that if Phil Jones is unable to recover from his shoulder injury in time to make the trip to Brazil, he will be replaced by Everton defender John Stones.

Midfielders

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Ross Barkley (Everton), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool),  Adam Lallana (Southampton)

Forwards

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Rickie Lambert (Southampton)

John Ruddy (GK), Jon Flanagan (DF), John Stones (DF), Michael Carrick (MF), Tom Cleverley (MF), Andy Carroll (FW) and Jermain Defoe (FW) have been named to the standby list.

England, who will be competing in Group D at this summer's tournament, open up their campaign with a match against Italy on June 14 in Manaus.