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12 Beckhams, 5 Rooneys and 627 Owens!
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson may be plagued by injury fears at this year's World Cup, but he has a back-up for almost every position on the squad.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson may be plagued by injury fears at the 2006 World Cup, but he has a back-up for almost every position on the squad, says a new survey.
Believe it or not, there are five Wayne Rooneys and 627 Michael Owens in the UK alone.
The namesakes may not be as gifted as England's famous strikers, but would no doubt jump at the chance to represent England in the football fiesta.
Research by Chester-based GB Group has revealed 12 David Beckhams and 92 versions of Peter Crouch in Britain.
There are 2,000 Paul Robinsons, 206 John Terrys, 18 Gary Nevilles, 38 Steven Gerrards and two Frank Lampards.
But the rarest of the rare are Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Jermaine Jenas and Theo Walcott who can only boast of one namesake each.
"Almost everyone in the UK shares their name with someone else, but those individuals with England World Cup squad names are going to get their fair share of stick over the next few weeks unless England do well," Karen Hall of GB Group was quoted as saying in the 'South Tyneside Today'.
