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England manager Gareth Southgate will announce his 26-man squad for next month’s Euro 2020 on Tuesday. In the meantime, what could this list be? Staff review. Between certainties and hopes.
After a long, difficult and eventful Premier League season which ended on Sunday, who will be part of the squad selected by Gareth Southgate? Players who would probably not have participated a year earlier are this time serious candidates like Luke Shaw, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham or even Ollie Watkins. But places will be expensive this year.
Goalkeepers (3 places)
Gareth Southgate will be spoiled for choice. Jordan Pickford (Everton – 27 – 30 caps), current number 1 at the post, seems the one who is most certain to participate in Euro 2020. Behind, Dean Henderson (Man Utd – 24 years old – 1 selection), who started with the Red Devils, is pushing hard to get his ticket to the European competition. Finally the third goalkeeper will be to choose between Nick Pope (Burnley – 27 – 7 caps), Alex McCarthy (Southampton – 31 – 1 cap) and Sam Johnstone (WBA – 28 years old – 0 selection).
Defenders (10 places)
The main question among the defenders will be the selection or not of Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool – 22 – 12 caps). Removed from the last list in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup, the Liverpool defender ended the season with a bang with his team. But the defensive aspect of his profile would pose a problem for Gareth Southgate. In this sector of play, we should find essentials such as Kyle Walker (Man City – 30 – 55 caps), Harry Maguire (Man Utd – 28 years old – 32 caps), Eric Dier (Tottenham – 27 – 45 caps) and Kieran Trippier (Tottenham – 30 years old – 26 caps).
Among the rising generation, Ben Chilwell (Chelsea – 24 – 14 caps) seems most likely in the company of Reece James (Chelsea – 21 – 6 caps). Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan – 23 years old – 1 cap), Luke Shaw (Man Utd – 25 – 9 caps) and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal – 23 – 5 caps) can be serious candidates and the surprise could come fromAaron Wan-Bissaka (Man Utd – 23 years old – 0 selection).
The other places will be taken between Conor Coady (Wolverhampton – 28 – 4 caps), Michael Keane (Everton – 28 – 12 caps), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa – 28 – 8 caps), James Tarkowski (Burnley – 28 years old – 2 caps),
Midfielders (6 or 7 places)
Probably the sector of play in which Gareth Southgate will have to make strong choices and dismiss some players who are nevertheless good with their respective clubs. However, some already seem assured of their place: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa – 25 years old – 5 caps), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool – 30 – 58 caps), Mason Mount (Chelsea – 22 – 16 caps) and Declan Rice (West Ham – 22 – 15 caps) should be in the list for the Euro.
The other places will be played out between young people in the making like Jude Bellingham (Dortmund – 17 years old – 2 caps) and Phil Foden (Man City – 20 years old – 6 caps), players in resurrection like Jesse Lingard (West Ham on loan from Man Utd – 28 years old – 27 caps). Old executives like Dele Alli (Tottenham – 25 – 37 caps) or Ross Barkley (Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea – 27 – 33 caps) have no warranty at this point. Finally, other players like James Maddison (Leicester – 24 years old – 1 selection), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United – 25 – 7 caps) and James Ward-Prowse (Southampton – 26 – 6th selection) may have a little hope.
Forwards (6 or 7 places)
Harry Kane (Tottenham – 28 – 53 caps), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd – 23 – 40 caps), Raheem Sterling (26 years old – 61 caps), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund – 21 – 18 caps) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton – 24 years old – 7 caps), seem certain to be part of the Three Lions for the Euro.
For the other two places at most, the competition is fierce: Mason Greenwood (Man Utd – 19 years old – 1 selection), Tammy Abraham (Chelsea – 23 – 6 caps), Patrick Bamford (Leeds – 27 years old – 0 selection), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea – 20 years old – 1st cap), Danny Ings (Southampton – 28 – 3 caps), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal – 20 years old – 4 selections), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa – 25 years old – 1 selection) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle – 29 – 4 caps) can all hope for a precious sesame. Answer, Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
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