England No. 9 Carroll 2-5 to start Euro opener

ANDY CARROLL’S chances of starting England’s Euro 2012 opener against France seem to have improved after he was handed the No. 9 shirt when Roy Hodgson finalised his 23-man squad.

Bet365 reacted to the news by making Carroll 2-5 to lead the line againt Les Bleus and 9-4 to be left out. However, bookmakers were not reading too much into the news that Scott Parker will be wearing No. 17 – the Tottenham midfielder is a best-priced 4-7 to start the first game and 9-4 not to.

Parker looks set to strike up an experienced midfield axis with England No. 8 Frank Lampard, who is 8-13 to make the side. The 31-year-old is the only player with a shirt number bigger than 11 who is odds-on to face the French. Aside from No. 10 Wayne Rooney, all of the other players from one to 11 are odds-on to start the first game but Ladbrokes go 3-1 that all of them are picked.

Hodgson’s squad includes Glen Johnson Danny Welbeck, who had missed the 1-0 victory away to Norway through injury.