Gareth Southgate announced a provisional England squad yesterday for the European Champions next month.
33 players have been named including four without first-team caps.
One notable omission is Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier, who scored the winning penalty against Columbia in the 2018 World Cup to send England to the quarter-finals.
Gareth Southgate said Dier is someone he has “great respect for” but his season hasn’t been good enough for him to be selected.
Other omissions include Leicester City’s James Maddison, Manchester United’s Aaron Wan Bisakka and Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford.
Ahead of naming his final #EURO2020 squad next week, Gareth Southgate has selected 33 players to join up with the #ThreeLions from this weekend as our preparations for this summer’s tournament get under way.
— England (@England) May 25, 2021
Uncapped players include defenders Ben White and Ben Godfrey, as well as goalkeepers Sam Johnstone and Aaron Ramsdale.
An injury to Nick Pope means he won’t take part in the European Championships and Gareth Southgate said: “For Nick, it’s heartbreaking to get an injury so close to a major tournament.
“He’s been a fantastic member of our squad – a totally unselfish guy.”
Southgate decided to delay announcing the 26 man squad due to a number of players being involved in the Champions League Final on Saturday, as well as fitness concerns to Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson.
All of this is sure to cause a stir between families, friends and work colleagues, as they debate who should have made the cut and who shouldn’t.
We asked students at the University of Lincoln what they thought of the squad, which you can listen to below.
