England manager Gareth Southgate announced a provisional squad for the upcoming European championships in Germany. The squad announced by the manager consists of over 30 players but will be trimmed down to 26 for the competition. Before flying to Germany, the Three Lions will play two friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland respectively. They will then start their campaign against Serbia on June 17.
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson were the most notable absentees from the provisional squad for the Euros. Both of them were a vital part of England in their 2022 FIFA World Cup team in Qatar. However, owing to their poor form, Southgate had to make the decision of dropping them from the team. Rashford who primarily plays on the wing was snubbed off due to the emergence of Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze.
Henderson on the other hand moved to Saudi Arabia to join forces with Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq last summer. But he did not enjoy his football there and decided to move to Ajax in the winter transfer window. Since his move to the Eredivisie, Henderson has managed to bag 3 assists, but there were other midfielders who had better seasons as compared to him and this resulted in his exclusion from the squad.
England’s Euro squad has a few debutants
England will go into the European Championships as one of the best teams in the competition. They have a lot of quality players who will look to bring the trophy back to England for the first time. Gareth Southgate who is often criticised for showing favouritism to a few players has brought in a few out-of-the-box additions to the squad.
Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Adam Wharton were the three players who managed to get their first England call-up. This certainly does not guarantee them a place in the Euros squad but will give them a good chance to learn what it feels like to represent the nation.
The three youngsters have done a phenomenal job with their teams this season and deserve to be a part of the provisional squad. They were given the nod ahead of some big players like Reece James, Henderson and Ben Chilwell.
While there will be debates about Rashford’s exclusion, it is clear that Southgate made the bold decision looking at his form this season. Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze were all playing some of the best football of their lives for their clubs and led their teams from the front. While Rashford has the ability, he has failed to deliver and this time it has cost him a once permanent place in the England squad.
