England interim manager Lee Carsley announced his first England squad yesterday ahead of their Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Tino Livramento, Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke are the only new faces to the squad whilst there are recalls for Nick Pope, Rico Lewis, Levi Colwill, Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish.
Let's see what I think of the squad.
I'm very surprised that all of the new players have been called up as I wasn't expecting anything of them to receive call ups. But out of the four of them, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Maudeke are the ones that deserve their call ups.
Gibbs-White has had two good seasons with Nottingham Forest and has been someone who has been knocking on the door for a senior call up. Madueke ended last season pretty strongly for Chelsea and has started this season in good form. I wasn't sure if he would get called up this early into the season, but with the way he's started this season and the ended last season, he deserves his chance.
Livramento has been a mainstay in the Newcastle side so far this season and has made a fairly solid start to the season. But I didn't think he would be called up so soon as it's early in the season. He has done well to keep Kieron Trippier out of the Newcastle side this season, but I still wasn't expecting him to be called up this early.
Angel Gomes' inclusion was very surprising as I and a number of other people were not expecting him to be considered for a call up. He was part of the U21 side that won the Euros last year under Carsley and he did have a good season with Lille last season, but I still didn't see him anywhere near being called up.
Out of the players that have been recalled, Nick Pope and Harry Maguire are the ones I'm not surprised with. Pope hasn't been in an England squad since 2023 and with Aaron Ramsdale out of favour at Arsenal, his return was probably expected. Maguire missed the Euros through injury and was probably expected to be recalled after being a key player under Gareth Southgate.
I wasn't expecting any of the other players to be recalled. Jack Grealish did have a strong a pre-season with Man City, but is yet to make a contribution in the Premier League this season. I thought he might've been back in the squad later in the season.
Rico Lewis and Levi Colwill have played both games in the Premier League this season, but I still wasn't expecting either of them to be called.
In terms of the rest of the squad, I was surprised to see Kyle Walker left out. He may be yet to play this season as he was given an extended break following his late involvement at the Euros. But i was still expecting him to be recalled as he's England's first choice right back.
FULL ENGLAND SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Nick Pope (Newcastle)
DEFENDERS: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Rico Lewis (Man City), John Stones (Man City), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Man United), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Levi Colwill (Chelsea)
MIDFIELDERS: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Kobbie Mainoo (Man United), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Phil Foden (Man City), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jack Grealish (Man City), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille)
FORWARDS: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Comments