Hodgson to name England squad early

Fabio Capello's successor will announce his 23-strong party next week before facing the media at Wembley later that day to explain his selections.

Hodgson could have delayed naming the squad until the UEFA deadline of 29 May, but has opted to choose it ahead of a training camp in Spain and friendlies against Norway in Oslo and Belgium at Wembley.

Caretaker boss Stuart Pearce had been prepared to name a provisional squad on 10 May if he had still been in charge.

But Hodgson clearly wants to let his players know as soon as possible so they can start preparing for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Hodgson still has matters to address, including the form of former skipper John Terry, who looked ill at ease playing for Chelsea in Tuesday night's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool.

He has yet to meet Terry and Rio Ferdinand to determine whether they will feel comfortable being in the same squad - if selected - with Terry accused of racially abusing Ferdinand's brother, Queens Park Rangers defender Anton, a charge which he denies, during a match at Loftus Road in October last year.

Several positions also have question marks hanging over them with Micah Richards, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all right-back contenders.

Hodgson also has to solve the conundrum of who will play up front, given that Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first two games of the tournament and Darren Bent is unlikely to be fit.

Then there is the issue of the captaincy after Terry was stripped of the armband for the second time. Scott Parker led the side out for Pearce's solitary match in charge against Netherlands at Wembley in February.

The squad will meet up on Monday 21 May and travel to Spain for a training camp.

They will fly from Spain to Oslo for the Norway clash and then be given two days off before meeting up again to begin preparations for the game against Belgium in early June.

Another two-day break will follow before the squad reconvene and then travels to its Euro 2012 base in Krakow, Poland.