Watch: England 1 - 1 Ghana

[WATCH GOALS BELOW]
England put in an impressive performance against a determined, resilient and very well supported Ghana side and both teams left a vibrant Wembley stadium with a goal each. It was perhaps the deserved result in a well fought, passionate game fuelled with the huge vocal support from the fans, particularly the Ghanaians. 

Andy Carroll grabbed his first goal in an England shirt just before the end of the first half but it was cancelled out much to the delight of the African side who celebrated a last gasp winner thanks to the intricate silky skills of Assamoah Gyan who weaved the ball through the England defence to curl the ball round Joe Hart.

England put in a good performance, and should not be ashamed of a draw. It was a well played game of football in which Capello was able to learn a lot about the strength of his second - or "B" team. Downing was awarded man of the match and Ashley Young was also dangerous throughout - hitting the crossbar and having a long range shot well saved by Kingson. 

The night also saw the introduction of Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck who was eligible for both England and Ghana due to his Ghanaian parents and Manchester birth. His introduction was met by boos from Ghana fans, but with ten minutes to play he didn't have much chance to make an impact.

Watch the goals below:

Carroll Goal

Gyan Goal

Michael Owen: I'm Fit & Ready for United & England Return

Manchester United will have no shortage of strikers next season. Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov will be ready and raring to go as well as those young strikers returning from loan deals; Danny Welbeck, Kiko Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf. One striker whose future is still yet to be decided is a man who Sir Alex Ferguson has described him as "world class", with "absolutely superb" positional play, first touch and finishing.

Surely then, with those qualities, Michael Owen would have no problem in getting into the United side. On the contrary, because of a mixture of both injuries and bad luck, his appearances for United have been limited.

11 appearances this season due to the hamstring injury he suffered during last years Carling Cup final and other unfortunate injuries has seen him score four goals. Despite criticism of being "injury plagued", last season saw a fantastic return from the then 30 year old - 31 appearances and 9 crucial goals.
His last game for England was in 2008 which was incidentally his only appearance under the management of Fabio Capello. 89 appearances and 40 goals for his country however tell a different story.

The new man to Twitter spent today clearing a few things up on the micro-blogging site:

"By the way, to answer a common question: I'm fit. I was on the side of the pitch about to come on last week [against Bolton] until Jonny Evans got sent off."

He also congratulated Gareth Barry on the news that the Manchester City midfielder would captain England on Tuesday against Ghana. He also joked about his England situation:

"Congrats to Gareth Barry, great honour for him. Quite a few dropped out of squad, Mr Capello must be making room for me to return!!!!!!!!!!!" 

In response to some obviously derogatory responses to that Tweet, Owen followed up with this:

"I knew that joke would get a few of you taking the p*** out of me! You certainly need thick skin to play this Tweeting game."

Follow Michael on Twitter @themichaelowen 

Welbeck May Play for Ghana Instead of England

Danny Welbeck may decide to play his international football for Ghana rather than England. The Manchester United striker, who is currently on a very successful loan with Sunderland, was born in Manchester, England to Ghanaian parents. That means he can play for either England or Ghana, and his Ghanaian team mates at Sunderland, Asamoah Gyan and Johan Mensah are trying to persuade to join the 2010 World Cup quarter finalists.

Gyan said:

"Myself and (John) Mensah have spoken to him about playing for Ghana. He has not made up his mind yet and says he needs more time to think through it.

"He is a very good player, young and talented so he will be helpful to Ghana, but we need to give him more time."

The young striker has played for England under 17, under 18, under 19, and under 21 sides, and is now awaiting a first team call-up as Capello looks for the future generation of England stars. If Welbeck doesn't find himself on that list, he may well turn his had and jon up with the Ghana side. They have, after all been monitoring his progress since late 2008 in the hope that he may one day play for them.

Welbeck has shown excellent ability in his time with Sunderland, playing up front in a prolific partnership with Gyan. The 20 year-old has scored six times the amount of Premier League goals that he did at Manchester United and has shown the kind of quality that has made Ferguson so reluctant to sell him. The loan period at Sunderland has only improved him as a player, increasing his sale value and raising interest from clubs in search of a permanent deal. Welbeck is currently out with a hamstring injury.

Arsenal Striker a Wanted Man

The January transfer market looks as if it may turn into a window for teams to send away their young players on loan to gain match experience and fitness, to return with a possible place for them in the team, and Arsene Wenger will do just that with his Mexican striker, Carlos Vela.

Bolton are a possible destination, and Owen Coyle has been tipped to make a move for the 21 year-old, having already taken Jack Wilshere under his wing in a successful loan period at the Reebok. Wilshere returned to Arsenal and is now a first team regular for Wenger, and often runs the Arsenal midfield - an advantage of loan deals that Vela should carefully consider.

As long as Vela sees his future in English football, he should probably choose to stay in the English League and play regularly to become familiar with the playing style. His other options include Italian side, Chievo Verona of Serie A, or a move to Spain in Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol while Valencia are said to be front runners:

"With Valencia having been the front runners to sign the Mexico international, Italian outfit Chievo are the latest club to have taken a shining to the 21 year old."

With Manchester United preparing to send Macheda away on loan, and Danny Welbeck already in the middle of a very successful loan spell at Sunderland, it seems the loan is becoming a useful tool for the bigger clubs.