FORMER Ipswich Town striker Darren Bent was one of seven players cut from the England World Cup squad today.

Boss Fabio Capello had to trim his squad from 30 to 23 ahead of next week’s first match in South Africa, against the United States in Rustenburg.

And Bent was, as expected, one of the players to go.

He joins Theo Walcott, Leighton Baines, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Michael Dawson and Scott Parker on the plane back to the UK.

Only Walcott and Baines had been widely expected to make the final 23.

Former Suffolk schoolboy Matthew Upson does make the squad, however.

Midfielder Gareth Barry, who it was feared would not be fit in time for the tournament after injuring his ankle, has been included in the squad after tests revealed he will be able to play after the June 12 opener against the USA.

The final squad is: -

- Goalkeepers: David James, Robert Green, Joe Hart

- Defenders: John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Stephen Warnock, Matthew Upson, Ledley King

- Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, James Milner

- Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

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