Following on from their World Cup exploits, England are preparing to participate in the inaugural UEFA Nations League and Gareth Southgate has named his latest squad.
Now who’s in and who is out and what does this mean in terms of plans as they prepare to face Spain in their opening group match, before meeting Switzerland in a friendly a few days later.
Goalkeeper
- Jordan Pickford (Everton)
- Alex McCarthy (Southampton)
- Jack Butland (Stoke City)
Great lineup with Alex McCarthy being rewarded for his efforts with a call-up, although Jack Butland’s inclusion might surprise some given that Stoke are now in Championship.
Personally, I am happy with this goalkeeper selection because Southgate hasn’t played it safe by recalling one or two of; Ben Foster, Joe Hart and Tom Heaton.
Pickford however will be the no.1 keeper against Spain after his exploits in Russia so expect McCarthy and Butland to battle over the starting spot for Switzerland game.
Defence
- Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
- Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
- Harry Maguire (Leicester City)
- James Tarkowski (Burnley)
- Joe Gomez (Liverpool)
- John Stones (Manchester City)
- Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
- Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)
Great consistency here from the World Cup and Luke Shaw’s inclusion over Ashley Young is a real positive.
Joe Gomez and James Tarkowski’s inclusion are both reflective of their form but I suspect that it will be Kyle Walker, John Stones and Harry Maguire starting at back with Kieran Trippier and Shaw on flanks.
Either way, this is a strong selection but I would of handed Ryan Sessegnon or Ben Chilwell a chance here, ahead of Danny Rose who has played just one match so far this season.
Midfield
- Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
- Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
- Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Fabian Delph (Manchester City)
- Adam Lallana (Liverpool)
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)
This midfield selection is effectively the same as that of World Cup but with the recovered Adam Lallana added in to bring extra creativity.
None of names here surprise me although Loftus-Cheek’s inclusion can be debatable given that he hasn’t made any appearances for Chelsea yet.
There is however no other English player who would be a justifiable replacement, so Southgate has probably made the right decision this time around but if he not played by October then perhaps its time to look at Phil Foden or Lewis Cook.
Apart from Henderson, Alli and Lingard, I would say that many positions are going to be up for grabs throughout qualifying, with youngsters starting to come through whilst others could find better form than some current members and snatch an England call-up from them.
Forwards
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
- Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
- Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
The first three names on this list aren’t a surprise because they are the obvious picks compared to other English forwards available.
As for Danny Welbeck, he hasn’t done much but is the best available option now with Jamie Vardy now in semi-retirement.
I however reckon that Southgate should of taken a risk like he has done with Southampton’s Alex McCarthy and hand Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson a chance over Welbeck.
Compared to many top strikers, Wilson has had most shots with six being on target and has been a key player for the Cherries in attack, as evidenced by setting up both goals in their comeback draw against Everton to draw 2-2.
To be honest, Wilson has probably done more to earn a call-up in those three opening games than Welbeck has since joining Arsenal in 2014.
Anyway, Welbeck probably won’t be seeing much game time given how impressive the others are.