Mason Greenwood Amongst Seven Players Dropped From England Euro 2020 Squad

Mason Greenwood and Ollie Watkins headline seven players who have been omitted from England’s 26-man Euro 2020 squad.

Greenwood voluntarily withdrew from the initial 33-man squad after failing to shake off a recurring injury which has affected him since March, with Manchester United having managed his club appearances across the last few months.

Utd released a statement in which they said that participating in Euro 2020 wouldn’t be ‘beneficial’ for Greenwood’s recovery, with the 19 year-old now set to remain at Trafford Training Ground, Carrington, to continue his recovery ahead of pre-season.

Sheffield United’s Aaron Ramsdale has been snubbed in the goalkeeper selection as England’s 2018 World Cup penalty shootout hero, Jordan Pickford is joined by Dean Henderson and Sam Johnstone in the squad.

Brighton’s Ben White has missed out in defence alongside Everton’s Ben Godfrey as Gareth Southgate names four right-backs in the squad, although Kyle Walker and Reece James are thought to move into centre-back positions if required due to their versatility.

In midfield, Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard miss out, as Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is selected despite failing to play for his club in recent months due to injury.

Lingard’s absence particularly comes as a surprise after his excellent form in recent months on loan at West Ham, in which he produced nine goals and four assists in just 16 league appearances for the Hammers who finished sixth

Up front, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is the only absentee despite enjoying a excellent maiden Premier League campaign in which he netted 14 goals in 37 league appearances.

Gareth Southgate’s official 26-man squad will now prepare for friendlies against Austria and Romania on Wednesday 2 and Sunday 6 June 2021 at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium ahead of Euro 2020, with kick offs at 8pm and 5pm BST respectively.

England will kick off their Euro 2020 Group D campaign against Croatia on Sunday 13 June (2pm BST), before hosting Scotland in a mouth-watering Auld Enemy showdown on Friday 18 June at 8pm BST ahead of their final group match against Czech Republic on Tuesday 22 June (8pm BST).

All three Group D matches will be held at Wembley Stadium along with a potential Last 16 tie against the runner-up of Group F on Tuesday 29 June if England top their group.

Here is England’s 26-man official squad for Euro 2020.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Brom),

Defence: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Midfield – Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)

Forward – Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

 

Questions to be Asked

Now that the squad is known, there is no doubt that there are serious questions to be asked of Gareth Southgate’s selection decisions.

The obvious place to start is in defence with FOUR right-backs named in the squad because although James and Walker can also fill in central defence, there is no excuses to take that many right-backs no matter what at expense of potentially one extra midfielder in Lingard.

Ward-Prowse meanwhile has been the best English set-piece specialist by far this season, so could make an argument for him ahead of Lingard or alternatively take both if prepared to make changes in defensive or forward selection to accommodate both players.

Watkins though is the most bizarre decision of all when Sterling based on current form is the most disposable, unless were brave to drop Rashford or Grealish and cite recent injury issues as a justifiable reason for omitting them under the guise of protecting them for future and allowing a full summer of recovery like Greenwood.