England manager Steve McClaren has confirmed Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has decided not to return to international football. McClaren made a personal visit to Liverpool's training ground on Monday for a face-to-face meeting with Carragher, but the situation remained the same, with the tough defender politely declining a request to change his mind. SBG Global has England at +650 odds to win EURO 2008.
McClaren told a press conference, televised by Sky Sports News: "I met Jamie on Monday and had a very good conversation but unfortunately he's stayed with the decision to not be involved with us."
He added: "We respect that, Jamie has been a fantastic servant for England. I won't close the door, who knows in the future."
McClaren did not say he would never consider Carragher again and also admitted Sol Campbell could return to the England team.
He added on Sky Sports News: "I'm not ruling out anybody at the moment."
McClaren admits losing Wayne Rooney to injury is "a big blow" but believes his squad can cope without the Manchester United striker.
The 21-year-old is out for two months after suffering a hairline fracture of his left foot in United's opening Premier League game against Reading and will miss the friendly against Germany and more importantly the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia.
McClaren accepts Rooney is a key player but sees no reason why the team cannot still get the right results in his absence.
He added: "He is an important player for England and I was disappointed to get the phone call but by Monday morning I had to move on. We have always had to do that in the past and we'll do it again."
SBG has posted European Football betting odds to win the EURO 2008:
GERMANY +400
ITALY +450
NETHERLANDS +500
ENGLAND +650
SPAIN +750
PORTUGAL +850
CZECH REPUBLIC +950
SWITZERLAND +950
TURKEY +1200
CROATIA +1200
SWEDEN +1200
GREECE +1450
RUSSIA +1450
DENMARK +1450
ROMANIA +2350
SERBIA +2350
POLAND +2350
UKRAINE +2350
AUSTRIA +3250
NORWAY +3250
SCOTLAND +3250
IRELAND +3250
BULGARIA +4750
N IRELAND +4750
SLOVAKIA +4750
ISRAEL +7250
BELGIUM +7250
FINLAND +7250
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA +7250
SLOVENIA +7250
HUNGARY +9750
WALES +9750
ICELAND +9750
FRANCE +500
