England squad arrive in Austria for World Cup training

The English football team arrived in Austria on Monday for a training camp at altitude ahead of the World Cup.

Fabio Capello’s squad of 24 were immediately whisked off by bus to a training camp in the south-eastern town of Irdning.

They will be joined on Wednesday by the five Portsmouth and Chelsea players who had been given several additional days rest after Sunday’s League Cup, and midfielder Gareth Barry, who stayed in England to treat an ankle injury.

The Football Association (FA) open the training camp to the press on Wednesday. The team will stay in Irdning until May 23 before returning to London for a warm-up match against Mexico on May 24.

England stars Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard will then return to Austria for a second training camp in Irdning between May 26 and 30 and will play a friendly against Japan on May 30 in Graz.

Capello will name his final 23-man squad on June 1.

In total nine World Cup teams including Spain and the Netherlands will hold training camps in the Austrian Alps before the tournament.