Joe Cole's got 45 minutes to save his World Cup

Coach Fabio Capello is planning to use both Cole and Manchester City's Adam Johnson in the role on the left-hand side of midfield.

It is likely that only one of the pair will make the cut for the final 23-man squad when it is named next Tuesday and the Italian is believed to be torn between which player to include.

With Tottenham's Aaron Lennon and Arsenal's Theo Walcott virtually assured of inclusion on the right and James Milner and Steven Gerrard both able to play on the left of midfield, Cole and Johnson appear to be fighting for one place.

It is possible that both will get one half each against Japan to impress Capello, with Johnson currently ahead in the reckoning after his five-minute cameo against Mexico on Monday night at Wembley.

Cole missed the game because he was being rested, along with the other three Chelsea players in the squad — John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole — and Portsmouth's David James, all of whom played in the FA Cup Final.

The 28-year-old Blues midfielder will now be desperate to impress Capello on Sunday and his namesake, Ashley, is urging the England coach to take his team-mate to the World Cup.

He said: "To be around Joe, he is a great guy, he is funny and always making jokes. But he is one of the hardest trainers I have ever seen.

"He seems to think if he doesn't play he has to train harder which is brilliant from him and all the [Chelsea] players are pleased he is in the provisional 30.

"I think he has started to find his feet again now. Of course he came back from a major injury and was out for a long time but he is very fit and is looking very sharp. Hopefully all the Chelsea players will be on the plane to South Africa together."

The Chelsea winger had some consolation for being restricted to just a bit-part role at Stamford Bridge by Carlo Ancelotti this season, with the addition of a Premier League and FA Cup-winners' medal to his collection.

There will be no crumb of comfort though for Cole if Capello doesn't take him on the 11-hour flight to South Africa next week.

There are no guarantees that the former West Ham player will start the friendly in Graz and, considering he hasn't played for his country since the 4-1 victory in Croatia in September 2008, time is running out.

One of the biggest reasons for his lengthy absence from the international scene was the serious knee injury he sustained in January last year which ruled him out for eight months.

Since then, however, he has not been given the run of games in a Chelsea shirt he needed to rediscover the form that had made him an England regular in the past.

Still, the flashes of brilliance he has shown, especially when he opened the scoring in the top-of-the-table clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford with a sublime back-heel, is just what England have been missing of late.

Straight after the match he admitted that he couldn't talk himself into the World Cup, yet his Chelsea skipper Terry is also desperate for him to make the trip.

Terry said: "I really believe we can do it with players like Joe desperate to make himself available and be in the squad. He believes we have a great chance and everyone deep inside believes and hopes that as well."

Meanwhile, England will begin their preparations for the Euro 2012 qualifiers by hosting Hungary in a friendly international at Wembley on 11 August.

The match will be England's first after the World Cup finals in South Africa and arrives three weeks before their opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria, which is also at Wembley on 3 September.

England's previous meeting against Hungary was at Old Trafford in the lead-up to the 2006 World Cup when goals from Gerrard, Terry and Peter Crouch helped earn a 3-1 win.