Aaron Lennon will have some familiar faces around him when he appears for England for the first time this evening, since being named in the squad for the World Cup.
The teamsheet for the B-team game which is set to kick-start England's World Cup preparations was announced early. The centre of midfield is all Spurs, with Michael Carrick and Jermaine Jenas appearing together for the Three Lions for the first time since Jenas joined Tottenham, and scored seven goals in his first season at White Hart Lane.
Carrick told England's official website: "This has been my best season, without a doubt, not necessarily for one-off performances, but for consistency. Playing with a great side at club level has obviously helped me to mature and get more experienced. Edgar Davids helped me, too. I watched him training and learned from his hungry attitude. At Tottenham the gaffer gave me a lot more responsibility as well and that's important."
"I've learned that international football is a lot more about keeping possession so there are not as many longer passes involved. In training this week, we've been doing little passes, and I tended to get a lot of the ball."
A first senior appearance might also be on the cards for Spurs defender Michael Dawson, who has vast experience at Under 21 level. He's been named among the substitutes.
When Luke Young withdrew from the list of players on standby for England, Sven Goran Eriksson turned to Dawson, with Jamie Carragher versatile enough to fill in at right back in Germany if necessary. However, tonight we will get the chance to see Owen Hargreaves, named in the 23-man squad as a midfielder, stake his claim at being Gary Neville's understudy for the World Cup.
Eriksson said: "It was lucky that one of the coaches at Bayern is Swedish and so we were in almost daily contact. He kept me informed of everything Hargreaves had been doing." The England coach also spoke with Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge before naming his preliminary squad on May 8.
Hargreaves said: "I've missed a lot of games through injury this year so I obviously haven't had a chance to present myself the way I would have liked to. It is inevitable fans of the Premiership clubs would question my place in the squad because most of the time I've just come on in the last 10 minutes or so to help get a result." (The Sun)
Meanwhile, Tottenham have been told Stewart Downing is not for sale. Reports had suggested the club had increased its offer from last summer by £1.5 million, to £7.5 million. Downing, who has one England cap to his name, will start on the left wing against Belarus tonight. Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb said: "We have had no contact about him, and we don't expect or want any." (The Guardian)
Jermain Defoe is on the bench and the waiting game goes on for the Spurs striker. Today was meant to be D-Day on Wayne Rooney's fitness. He was among the 23 names submitted to FIFA on May 15, and is expected to remain on that list when the FA submits the medical records of the players on Tuesday, the day England face Hungary at Old Trafford.
Unless Rooney breaks down before June 9, alterations can be made to the squad up until the deadline for doing so – which is just 24 hours before England's opening group match, against Paraguay.
Phil Neville has also been added to the standby list of players who might yet go to the World Cup.
The England team to face Belarus (KO 8.05pm): David James - Owen Hargreaves, Jamie Carragher, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole - Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing - Peter Crouch, Michael Owen. Subs: Wayne Bridge, Robert Green, Phil Neville, Michael Dawson, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, Andrew Johnson, Theo Walcott, Scott Carson.