With friendlies against Brazil and Belgium out of the way, what have we learned about England's likely 23-man squad for the Euros. Adam Clery looks at all the players in contention and selects Southgate's likely squad.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:09 All right, fine, let's pick the England team.
00:11 [DING]
00:13 Right, hello everybody, Adam Cleary from 442 here.
00:16 And as you no doubt saw, this England side lined up against Brazil and
00:20 got punished for being too open by the absolute masters of punishing you for
00:24 being too open.
00:25 And then this England side lined up against Belgium, threw two goals into their
00:30 own net, but still created loads of chances and got out of there with a draw.
00:33 But as you well know, they don't do these international friendlies cuz they're bored.
00:37 They don't do them for a laugh.
00:38 They do them because international managers have precious little time on
00:43 the training ground to make their ideas work and to try things out.
00:46 So every minute allocated to a player this close to a tournament
00:51 possibly tells you that they may be going.
00:53 So then the question is, can we take what we already know about this England side,
00:57 its manager and its players, and then add what we've learned in the two most recent
01:01 games, and then work out precisely which players will be on the plane to Germany?
01:06 And no, of course we can't, and I will not even try.
01:11 [MUSIC]
01:19 Okay, so Gareth Southgate gets 23 players in this squad, and
01:22 I think we'll all agree there are ten individuals who are guaranteed absolute
01:28 shoo-ins, and they are, of course, Harry Kane, because it's Harry Kane.
01:31 Of course, he's gonna go, he's the captain.
01:33 Phil Foden, Bakaio Saka, and Jude Bellingham,
01:35 England's three most talented attacking players.
01:38 Declan Rice, because obviously you're gonna take Declan Rice.
01:41 Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Harry Maguire, because they have been the cornerstone of
01:45 England's defensive setup for three tournaments now.
01:47 You're not gonna drop them.
01:48 Jordan Pickford, because he is England's established number one.
01:51 And if it's possible to be England's established number two,
01:55 then Aaron Ramsdale is it, so him as well, I guess.
01:59 And that leaves us with 13 other slots in this squad that you could make an argument
02:04 for and against every single England player currently anywhere near the national team
02:09 setup being included in.
02:10 So let's go through all of those and work out who Gareth Southgate will take.
02:17 And I do feel the need to do this disclaimer, not who he should take,
02:20 not who I would take, not who you would take, who he, the England manager, will take.
02:26 So we'll start off with the goalkeeping options, right?
02:28 Sam Johnston was about as established a number three for England as it's possible to be,
02:33 but his injury ruled him out not just of these games,
02:37 but of the Premier League season entirely and almost certainly the whole Euro.
02:41 So that third spot is definitely up for grabs.
02:44 Now James Trafford got the nod this time, and he's the obvious choice.
02:47 He's come through the under-21s, he won the Euros with them the other summer.
02:50 We did a little video on that.
02:51 He's had a bad-ish season at Burnley, but he's still highly regarded.
02:55 He could be the guy. But one small thing that I'd happen to notice,
03:00 England played with the highest line they've probably ever played with against Brazil
03:04 and partially against Belgium as well.
03:05 There is one goalkeeper in English football who is just Mr.
03:10 I play behind a high line. That's Nick Pope.
03:13 Not going to make this video too stats heavy. None of us have got time for that.
03:16 But if we look at his like average position and his defensive action position and all of this,
03:20 he is one of the leading goalkeepers in world football for sweeping up behind a back four.
03:25 It's why Newcastle have missed him so much and why they're so good when he plays.
03:29 He obviously couldn't be selected here because he's out with a long-term injury,
03:31 but he will be back for the next round of friendlies.
03:34 And I could see him getting the nod because of that.
03:38 One thing to mention is that Dean Henderson doesn't get selected for England
03:41 because he doesn't play for Crystal Palace.
03:43 But Sam Johnston is now injured and can't play for Crystal Palace.
03:46 So Dean Henderson may well play for Crystal Palace
03:49 and then thus get to play for England as a result.
03:52 I've given myself a headache talking like that and wording it,
03:55 but it's a possibility. However, I think it'll be Nick Pope.
03:58 Now moving on to the defense now, I'm going to start with the left-backs
04:02 because Luke Shaw absolutely would have been one of those players
04:05 who was locked in and guaranteed to go if he was fit.
04:08 But there are currently questions and indeed concerns over that.
04:13 He's got a long-term injury. He's going to be back very near the end of this season.
04:16 And Gareth Southgate has already said it's going to be really difficult for him as a result
04:21 to play every single game if England are to go all the way.
04:25 So he will go. I think we can all be pretty certain of that.
04:28 Unless he has another injury setback, he will be in that squad.
04:31 And normally for the other full-back position,
04:33 you'd want someone who gives you something a little bit different, wouldn't you?
04:36 Like maybe they're a little bit more attacking or a little bit more solid defensively.
04:39 But if Luke Shaw is definitely the vibe in that position,
04:43 but Luke Shaw probably can't play every game,
04:45 then for the other position, you're going to want England's number one Luke Shaw tribute act.
04:50 And that, as bad as he was in those two friendlies, is definitely Ben Chilwell.
04:56 And I think the most telling thing about his inclusion here was that he was really bad against Brazil,
05:00 but still got another chance against Belgium. And to his credit, did play a lot better.
05:05 He was more involved in the link-up plays a little bit more solid defensively.
05:08 So I don't think you would waste those two starts on a player,
05:11 unless you were definitely going to take them.
05:14 So it's Shaw and Chilwell at left-back. And as for the other right-back slot,
05:17 that will just be Kieran Trippier. Partially because he can play at left-back,
05:21 if there are question marks over Luke Shaw,
05:23 but also because Gareth Southgate just trusts him. He's an integral part of this squad.
05:28 He never lets England down. He's good at set pieces.
05:31 And more importantly, Rhys James is not going to be back in time for the tournament.
05:35 Ben White has said he doesn't want to be selected. And those are all the options.
05:39 And so given that Maguire and Stones are absolute lock-ins,
05:41 that gives us several other people who could be featuring as centre-backs.
05:45 Now in these friendlies, the minutes obviously went to Lewis Dunk and Esri Kansa and Joe Gomez,
05:51 but Jared Brantway was also called up. Gareth Southgate understandably loves Mark Gay,
05:57 and Levi Colwell would certainly have been in this squad if he was fit.
06:01 And out of those six players, I think the two that Southgate is most likely to go with are Joe Gomez
06:07 and Esri Kansa, mostly because they give you so much coverage across that team.
06:12 Like Kansa is brilliant as a centre-back for Aston Villa,
06:15 but he's also really good as a right-back, both up and down that side of the pitch.
06:18 And if Kieran Trippier is your alternative to Kyle Walker,
06:22 then you can't really replace what Kyle Walker does if he's injured or suspended.
06:26 And Kansa, I thought, did a pretty good job at doing that when he came on against Brazil.
06:30 Now, I don't believe that people should get called up to the national side because they deserve it,
06:35 because I'm not five years old, but if anybody deserves it, that would be Joe Gomez.
06:40 He's having a blinding season for Liverpool. I just personally seem to really like him,
06:43 but more importantly, he gives you coverage at left-back, centre-back, right-back, and even in midfield.
06:48 He is an international manager's wet dream.
06:51 And just to quickly rattle through the others, it'll not be Tamori,
06:54 because if Tamori was going to be involved, he would have been involved here,
06:57 given the injuries this current England set-up just don't seem to rate him that highly.
07:01 Lewis Dunk probably played himself out of a place, given the mistakes he made in both of those games.
07:06 He's kind of there as coverage for Maguire, because he's a left-sided centre-back who can bring the ball out and play it around.
07:11 But I think, given that he's like, what, 31, 32, Levi Colwell can do that.
07:15 So if anyone's going to get that nod, it'll be him.
07:18 Mark Gaze injured until like mid-April, so really big ask for him to get back, get fit, get in a form,
07:24 and get into this squad when he's already so far down the pecking order.
07:27 And who am I forgetting? Yes, Jarrod Brantway.
07:29 Sorry, yeah, they obviously really like him and wanted to have a look at him,
07:32 but he didn't get a single minute across these two friendlies.
07:34 So there's just no way you would get him in the squad and not play him if you were thinking of taking him.
07:39 So yeah, Konset and Gomez for me, but it could possibly be Colwell, maybe.
07:44 All right, into the midfield now, because no matter how England set up, whether it's a 4-3-3, like I would play,
07:49 or a 4-2-3-1, they're going to have basically three players in this part of the pitch.
07:53 So you're going to take six. Now, Bellingham and Rice, they're definitely going to go,
07:56 but I think had he been fit, there is no way Alexander-Arnold wasn't involved in these friendlies.
08:02 And the man himself told us in this very magazine interview, and in this very video that I made with him,
08:08 that was fun, that he is definitely a midfielder in this England squad.
08:13 So you can count him amongst that number.
08:15 Yeah, I think so. For England, I would say I'm now a midfielder.
08:20 How does he fit into this system? How best do you use him?
08:23 I don't currently know how that's going to work, but he's too good not to be involved.
08:28 And the options he gives you during the tournament, if you do need to change it up, are brilliant.
08:33 So he'll go. And after that, we again can look at the minutes.
08:36 Like, Kobe Meunier was not selected for this squad, don't forget,
08:39 but got called up from the under-21s to be had a look at, and then came on as a sub, started, and got man of the match.
08:46 There is literally no point in doing any of that if he can't play his way into the team.
08:52 And I think he's almost definitely played his way into the team.
08:56 Too young, too inexperienced, not gonna- I just- I get all of the reasons why you don't take him,
09:00 but he looks so at home at this level, and he is a profiler footballer that England do not have,
09:07 so it'd be stupid not to include him, I think.
09:09 So that leaves us with two slots, and in my opinion, it kind of comes down to these players here.
09:15 Connor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, James Madison, James Ward-Prouse, Calvin Phillips,
09:21 and I think Curtis Jones should be in the conversation.
09:23 Now I, me, a genius, would take Curtis Jones.
09:25 I think he's one of England's best off-the-ball footballers ever, but he's currently injured,
09:29 he couldn't play in these friendlies, probably too far a leap to get him from not playing at all to into this squad,
09:34 so let's discount him.
09:35 Calvin Phillips has been running around East London having a shit with his trousers on for the last couple of games,
09:40 so he's almost certainly out.
09:41 Given the fact that a literal child got a call-up here ahead of James Ward-Prouse,
09:45 I think we can probably discount him too,
09:47 and that leaves us, in my eyes, with Gallagher, Henderson, and James Madison.
09:51 Now you could make the argument that Madison is probably looked at as more as one of these wide forwards,
09:56 but when we get there, there's so few slots available and the players we've got to fit in,
10:00 I think you'll see him as part of this setup.
10:02 Now, in a sane world, between these three players, it is Connor Gallagher and James Madison,
10:08 and you put Jordan Henderson in a suit and give him that little ceremonial David Beckham role.
10:13 But I personally think, and it looks like Gary Southgate thinks as well,
10:16 that it's really important for this England side to have access to players of this particular profile.
10:23 Now, these are Connor Gallagher's off-the-ball stats that I showed in a previous video.
10:28 Like, he wasn't very good at this against Brazil, but he is supposed to be really good at this.
10:33 Like, you allow your Rices, your Sackers, your Fodens, your Bellinghams to thrive
10:37 if you can get somebody into this midfield who can do all this off-the-ball work.
10:42 It's not going to be a popular decision, but there was a point in Jordan Henderson's career
10:46 where he was arguably one of, if not the, best player in the world off-the-ball.
10:51 Certainly, there was part of that Liverpool system where he was making it all tick along,
10:54 and if he's even half the player he was then, then he's useful to have in the squad.
11:00 And it's not who I would take personally, but I think he will take Henderson,
11:04 and I think it will be Madison that misses out as a result.
11:07 You just, look, you need balance in a midfield, and that is not how I would balance it,
11:12 but I can't dispute that it is a way to balance it, so that's what I think will happen.
11:18 Anyway, though, up to the fun end of the pitch, and we're rapidly running out of places here.
11:22 You've got Sacker, you've got Foden, that kind of leaves you with two extra wide attackers,
11:26 and let's face it, Marcus Rashford will be one of those, which isn't a mad inclusion, I suppose.
11:32 Like, he never lets England down. He's put in some good performances for them.
11:35 He's a goal threat, he can play through the middle, he's an established part of this squad,
11:39 he'll almost certainly go, but the problem that then leaves you with is you've got one spot left
11:44 with which to try and fit, to remember them all, Anthony Gordon, Jared Bowen, Cole Palmer,
11:50 Ebrichie Eze, Raheem Sterling, and Jack Grealish.
11:53 That shows you, A, how good the current crop of England players are, but B,
11:56 how hard it is to take a 23-man squad to a tournament, because you can make arguments for all of them.
12:02 Like, Gordon was great in his debut, and he seemed to be the one they were having the biggest look at,
12:06 but Bowen also probably had the best performances, and Cole Palmer is the form player in the Premier League this year,
12:11 but didn't even get on the pitch during those two friendlies.
12:14 Eze, somebody the set-up really liked, Jack Grealish is probably the most established out of all of them in the squad,
12:20 and if you're looking for contributions in an England shirt, Raheem Sterling wipes the floor with all of them.
12:24 It should, I think, be Gordon. I've been watching him for Newcastle a lot this year,
12:29 I think he offers so much in terms of work rate, off the ball, goal threat, crossing, everything,
12:34 but I think it'll be Bowen, because I don't think either of them are likely to start,
12:40 and I think Bowen's way better as an impact, so, like, the running he'll give you, the directness, the in-behind,
12:45 that's a useful weapon to have in a squad, so I think it'll be him.
12:49 And that leaves you with one player left to understudy, Harry Kane.
12:53 Now, obviously, Watkins started against Brazil, and Tony started against Belgium,
12:57 and that felt like they were each getting an audition, and on those criteria alone,
13:02 you'd certainly say it's Ive and Tony who was edge to head, because he had a way better game.
13:07 They were both trying to link up with their teammates, but Tony was doing it a lot better.
13:10 He got a goal, he won the penalty for it, it probably feels like it's him,
13:14 but the mad thing is, the way they were both being asked to play suits Watkins a lot better,
13:20 but he didn't play that well, and suited Tony a lot worse, but he did.
13:23 I think this one could purely come down to form between now and the end of the season.
13:28 If Watkins scores goal after goal after goal and racks up a load of assists, and is undroppable, it'll be him,
13:33 but likewise, if Tony just keeps doing what he's doing, it'll be Tony.
13:37 So I think it'll be Tony, but who knows.
13:40 And there is also Callum Wilson and Eddie Enquete, who've been involved with England lately,
13:44 and certainly wouldn't let anybody down, but they just, if you get to take two strikers effectively in this squad,
13:51 they feel so far away from being that player that it's not even worth it.
13:54 So yes, unless I have completely miscalculated while doing this video,
13:58 I think that is the England 23 that Gareth Southgate will take to Germany.
14:03 Now like I said, is that the 23 he should take? Don't think so.
14:06 Is it the 23 I would take? F***ing no, but it's the 23 he will.
14:10 And yeah, that's it. Let me know what you think in the comments.
14:15 Anybody who we've overlooked, if I missed somebody really obvious, I'll feel really stupid,
14:19 if I have to apologize in advance. And I don't know, let's just do something fun.
14:23 Drop your England 11 in the comments and we can have a nice little look at that,
14:27 because we've done it here on 442. It was a nice big article,
14:29 but all the staff have gone through our squads and our 11, so go read the website.
14:34 And also, if reading is your thing, you should subscribe to our newsletter, which we have now,
14:37 and I was meant to have a nice fancy graphic for, but I don't, but the link is in the description.
14:42 You get loads of cool stuff sent directly to you, so that's nice.
14:44 Also, buy the magazine. I'd say that every time, but it is genuinely amazing,
14:48 and that interview I referenced with Trent Alexander-Arnold, that's in there as well.
14:52 I'm floundering him all over the place. Follow me on Twitter @adamcleary, C-L-E-R-Y,
14:56 and Instagram, and I think I probably had a Threads account, and I just joined TikTok.
15:00 So just wherever you do stuff, I'm probably there lurking around somewhere.
15:06 Anyway, that's it. That's all I've got. I really, I enjoyed, it was a really good international break, this.
15:10 It was really, really good, but I want my Premier League back.
15:14 I want my Premier League back, and I want it back really, I want it now,
15:18 which is fine, because it comes at the weekend.
15:21 God, I'm tired. Goodbye!