Euros fever is under way and today, Gareth Southgate will name his 26-man squad for the delayed tournament. He initially placed 33 names into a provisional squad but seven of those now must be cut. Below is who I think will make the cut.
Goalkeepers
The three 'keepers seemed set in stone until Nick Pope needed to have surgery which has ruled him out of the tournament. Sam Johnstone, who replaced an injured Jordan Pickford in the March squad, will join the Everton man and Dean Henderson.
Defenders
The main bone of contention is which three right-backs will be brought to the tournament. Trent Alexander-Arnold was left out in March but his performances have improved since then. Regardless of Liverpool's shaky form across winter and spring, Alexander-Arnold is England's best right-back. It is between Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker. Trippier has had a fine season winning La Liga and Walker offers Southgate flexibility if he wants to play a back three. James may be squeezed out.
Only two natural left-backs, Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw, were called up so their inclusion seems certain. John Stones is one of the starting centre-backs but the other three places remain open. Ben Godfrey and Ben White were named in an England squad for the first time and the former has a good chance of going. Harry Maguire was fit enough to be on the bench in the Europa League final but when Eric Bailly had to be substituted through injury, it was Axel Tuanzebe that came on. His fitness is unknown and it would be a big risk for Southgate to take him. With three extra spaces than normal, does that allow for a gamble?
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| Trent Alexander-Arnold is England's best right-back and should be starting Photo by joshjdss |
Midfielders
4-3-3 would be my preferred system so a defensive midfielder is needed. Declan Rice is number one but Kalvin Phillips and also Jordan Henderson can play there. Henderson has not played since February but will feature in the warm-up games to help with his recovery. In the advanced positions, Henderson will be alongside Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount. Phil Foden could be deployed as a winger and Jesse Lingard has put himself in contention. The other midfielder is James Ward-Prowse who will miss out.
Forwards
Harry Kane is the first name on the teamsheet and will start ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the striker. Marcus Rashford can play up front or as a winger but will likely be behind Foden and Raheem Sterling. Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish should be the other options on the wing. With the quality in wide areas Southgate has, Bukayo Saka will feel unfortunate not to be picked. The battle for the final spot is between Mason Greenwood and Ollie Watkins. The Aston Villa striker is a very similar player to Calvert-Lewin which may count against him and the player that could make the most impact off the bench is probably Greenwood. Variety is key.
Full squad: Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Bromwich Albion) and Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ben Godfrey (Everton), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid) and Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (West Ham United, on loan from Manchester United), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) and Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
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