Four uncapped players have been named in interim manager Lee Carsley’s England squad for next month’s UEFA Nations League matches against Finland and Republic of Ireland with Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire recalled.
Under 21s manager Carsley stepped up to the senior team role on a temporary basis after Gareth Southgate stepped down and he has certainly made his mark on the squad.
Two notable absentees are Manchester City’s Kyle Walker and Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier. The latter announced his international retirement earlier on Thursday.
Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, Lille’s Angel Gomes and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White have all been called up to the senior squad for the first time, with Grealish and Maguire back in the squad having missed Euro 2024.
Familiarity aids selections in new era
Ahead of the squad announcement, there was speculation as to whether there would be fresh faces named and that has certainly been the case.
It is very noticeable that three of the four newcomers, as well as the recalled Levi Colwill, were part of Carsley’s victorious Under 21 squad at the European Championships last summer.
Two other players in the senior squad- Cole Palmer and Antony Gordon, were also part of the squad that won the tournament in Georgia last summer.
Gordon was named player of the tournament. Livramento was not part of that squad, but has previously featured under Carsley.
Although there have only been two Premier League games so far this season, Madueke particularly has earned some headlines after scoring a hat-trick in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers
Experienced players dropped- with two recalled
In order to make room for the new faces, a number of players who were part of England’s Euro 2024 squad have been dropped– they are Kyle Walker, Aaron Ramsdale, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Adam Wharton and Ivan Toney.
Meanwhile, Luke Shaw and Jude Bellingham also miss out due to injury.
However, two experienced players who were not in Germany make their returns. Harry Maguire missed out on the Euros squad after being unable to recover from injury in time, while Grealish was not selected after losing his place at Manchester City.
Of course, it won’t go unnoticed that Grealish could play against Republic of Ireland- who he played for at youth level.
New look England start to build towards 2026
How long Carsley is in charge of the senior team remains to be seen, although should these Nations League games go well then he would no doubt be under consideration to replace Southgate on a permanent basis.
For now though, he is the man in the dugout and he has certainly made his mark from the off with the number of new call-ups in this squad, although crucially they are all players he has worked with before, so they will already be familiar with the way he wants to play.
By the same token, he will already know how to get the best out of them.
Whilst the next three months will see England looking to secure promotion from League B of the Nations League in a group that also includes Greece, there will no doubt start to be long term planning towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
England’s Nations League campaign begins against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 7 September, with Finland visiting Wembley three days later.
There are certainly interesting times ahead for the Three Lions.
Squad in full:
- Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
- Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, Esri Konsa, Tino Livramento, Rico Lewis, Harry Maguire, John Stones
- Midfielders: Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Morgan Gibbs-White
- Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins