Defoe who is on standby and could still join the party had a slightly better strike rate than Joe Cole this season, but England coach Sven Goran Eriksson has taken the option of including Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves, and having Cole as a fifth striker in Germany this summer.
But the biggest shock yesterday was the inclusion of Theo Walcott, who has never played in the Premiership, nor had he even been considered as having an outside chance of going to this World Cup before last weekend, except within the confines of Arsenal's training ground.
Sir Bobby Robson, the World Cup ‘90 England manager said: "I think Defoe, having played quite a bit of Premiership football and having done well with England, should have been first choice over that young boy. The squad worries me because Eriksson has relied on Owen and Rooney - our two best strikers, of course - to be fit." (The Times)
Spurs boss Martin Jol was just as taken aback after hearing the surprise news. He said: "I think it was amazing Jermain's not in the squad."
Former England striker Tony Cottee said: "It was a big surprise to me that England will only be taking four strikers to Germany. At least Defoe was put on stand-by." (The Sun)
Ian Wright, father of Wright-Phillips and a close friend of Defoe's, said: "For five years Eriksson has been the most cautious and negative manager in history. Then, right at the end of his England reign, he's suddenly turned into a reckless Las Vegas gambler. It was all very well for him to chance his arm. I have received texts and calls from everyone I know, saying how disappointed they were. He left out my son because he says he has not played enough games for Chelsea this season and then he has called up Theo Walcott, a 17-year-old boy who has never played a single Premiership game. All season long I've kept him going by telling him the World Cup would be his chance to prove a lot of people wrong."
Eriksson admitted he has never seen Theo Walcott starring in the flesh yet. After consultation with Arsene Wenger, Eriksson decided on Walcott over breakfast, on the morning he was expected to announce the squad at London's Café Royal. However, Wenger does not even think Walcott is worthy of a place in his Champions League final squad. He has told Eriksson that he can have Walcott when the England squad joins up next Monday (two days before the final in Paris).
Wenger told Arsenal's official website: "We have been playing so many games that it has been difficult to integrate him. But had I the choice to have a player like Theo Walcott more involved in the A-team then I would. He would certainly have come on for example, when we were 3-0 up at Sunderland rather than bringing on an older player. I would have liked to have been in a position to put him on but when I picked the squad before the games I was thinking that it will be very tight so I took experienced players because it was at a stage when every point counted. I could not afford to do anything else."
Eriksson, who will be replaced by current assistant Steve McLaren after the World Cup, said: "Maybe I haven't made a bigger decision in my career but the feeling was he is ready for it. It was probably not logical but I did it by feelings. I've thought a lot about it over the last couple of months. Arsene was more important to talk to than any other manager about their players, because I couldn't see Walcott play. But it was time to come in with something new, something good. I used Wayne Rooney in a game when he was 17. I've always been prepared to take out important players and put in young ones where necessary. I've asked people if he can handle it and everyone said ‘yes'." (The Sun)
He added: "I have seen him a lot on videos playing for England [junior teams] and Southampton."
On the same day he was named in England's provisional World Cup squad, Walcott played for Arsenal's reserves against Ireland Under-21, which was only his third appearance for Arsenal's second string. (The Times)
Harry Redknapp, who handed Walcott his debut while at Southampton admitted that he was a little surprised to see the youngster included. (The Sun)