Gareth Southgate has announced his team for the upcoming Euros tournament this year and to review his choices, let us reflect on the differences between this team and the squad we took to Russia 3 years ago.
Image Credits: BBC
Image Credits, @England on Twitter.
13 players who initially featured in the World Cup will not take part in the Euros this year.
There has been an array of changes in our squad with the likes of Ashley Young, Fabian Delph and Jamie Vardy all announcing retirement at international level after the 2018 World Cup.
The 2018 World Cup squad heavily featured Tottenham Hotspur players, with Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier and Harry Kane all playing their parts in that impressive tournament where we reached the semi-final. However, only one Spurs player remains for the Euros (Harry Kane), with Kieran Trippier, our set-piece specialist, being an Atletico Madrid player and recent La Liga champion.
Throughout the period of 2 years, there has been many changes to this squad, including the introduction of Jude Bellingham, our third youngest debutant ever. Jude came on for the final 17 minutes in a 3-0 friendly win over Ireland; having made just four Bundesliga appearances prior to his debut, Southgate definitely saw something in the young Birmingham-born midfielder. Bellingham looked like a natural as he stepped onto the Wembley turf, with manager Gareth Southgate speaking on his debut by saying:
“You saw as it developed, he settled, and he got into the game. That’s the experience we wanted to give him.”
With a squad selection comes controversy or uproar. England fanatics on Twitter outlined their frustration after West Ham loanee Jesse Lingard was not featured in the Euros Squad.
Since his loan move to West Ham from Manchester United in January, only Harry Kane (14) has been involved in more goals than Lingard (13), a highly successful loan move has restored Lingard’s confidence and many fans thought he would certainly be on the way to the esteemed international tournament later this year. This is how some Three Lions fans reacted to the squad announcement via Social Media:
Presenter, Pundit and England legend Gary Lineker wished the best for this young, fierce England Squad by saying via twitter:
“Congratulations to those selected for @England’s wonderful young squad. Good luck to all of you. Go do your country proud.”