1. He Has Performed Exceptionally In Big Games
The last couple of entries have touched on this, but it bears a bit of greater focus. The biggest argument against playing Forster in the games that will decide whether England make it to the World Cup is that, with no previous England caps and a regular job in the Scottish Premier League, he doesn't have the necessary big game experience. Sure, the Scottish league has managed the remarkable feat of being even less competition for Celtic since Glaswegian rivals Rangers were forcibly relegated in 2012, but Celtic's Champions League campaigns have allowed them to compete at the highest level. While Hart's Man City crashed out of the 2012-13 competition without winning a single game, it was Celtic that progressed from the Qualifying Rounds to the Last 16. In particular last season's campaign was memorable for a brilliant 2-1 victory against Barcelona. Forster was the hero on that occasion, making a string of superb saves to preserve the Bhoys' lead. Forster was so unbeatable that the Spanish media dubbed him "La Gran Muralla", "The Great Wall". This wasn't a one off performance either. While Hart was blundering his way through the Bayern Munich game, 10 man Celtic were given a rematch against Barcelona. Barca dominated possession but were held to a single goal, winning 1-0. It could have been more but for Forster whose impressive double save from Neymar and Alexis Sanchez in the dying minutes strengthened the case for his England inclusion at just the right moment. Given this kind of major international experience, the ability to handle Neymar, Messi and company, Forster should be pretty prepared for whatever Montenegro could throw at him. The former Yugoslav state's star player is centre forward Mirko Vucinic who plies his trade for Juventus. Forster will already be well familiar with the six time Montenegrin Footballer of the Year. After Celtic's game against Juve in the last 16 of last year's Champions League, a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park saw Vucinic score the third goal, the result more of weak defending from Celtic than any fault of Forster's. Hopefully playing behind the slightly stronger defence that England can put together would be enough for Forster to keep out Vucinic, whose fitness remains in doubt for the game anyway.
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