The final England Euro 2020 squad have been announced, with 26 players heading to the Europe-wide tournament this summer.
Despite days of speculation about whether Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Reece James or Kyle Walker would be dropped, Gareth Southgate has opted for all four right backs in the team.
While 33 players were announced in his initial provisional squad, Mason Greenwood dropped out with injury, and a further six have been cut: goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, defenders Ben Godfrey and Ben White, midfielders Jesse Lingard and striker Ollie Watkins.
England were one of the final Euro 2020 squads to be revealed, with many others – including group rivals Scotland – releasing theirs in May.
England Euro 2020 squad: Full 26-man team
GK: Dean Henderson (Manchester United)
GK: Sam Johnstone (West Brom)
GK: Jordan Pickford (Everton)
DF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
DF: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)
DF: Conor Coady (Wolves)
DF: Reece James (Chelsea)
DF: Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
DF: Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa)
DF: Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
DF: John Stones (Manchester City)
DF: Kieran Tripper (Atletico Madrid)
DF Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
MF: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
MF: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
MF: Mason Mount (Chelsea)
MF: Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United)
MF: Declan Rice (West Ham United)
FW: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
FW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
FW: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
FW: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
FW: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
FW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
FW: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
FW: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
England Euro 2020 squad: Team preview
In their first Euros outing in 1968, England finished third, of four teams. They’re still waiting to improve on that.
Only Belgium and the old Yugoslavia could claim to have performed better at European Championships without winning one. England have been international football’s big underachievers since 1966, from home-soil heroes to the failed Golden Generation. The Three Lions have won one knockout game in the history of this competition – on penalties, as hosts.
Five years ago, they crashed out to Iceland; as the song goes, we’d seen it all before. What followed, though, was new: an unofficial remodelling of English football, led by some of the greatest minds in the game. Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa all arrived, followed by a cast of club greats making early forays into management. Together, they’ve helped to reshape the country’s tactical makeup into something more modern. An Icelandic volcano turned English football to rubble, but something unprecedented has risen from it.
There’s hope for the class of 2021. The Three Lions’ current pride isn’t an empty collection of big names – there are still titans of elite European sides but, vitally, there’s a balance that seems to have evaded the national team for 55 years. England finally have defensive midfielders and left-footers. A smattering of the current XI are captains of their clubs. The country’s youth-level champions of recent years are coming of age, giving Gareth Southgate genuine selection migraines. For many, England’s talent reserves are the envy of Europe.
Since 2018, the pragmatism of Southgate’s World Cup semi-finalists has come to the fore: they are prepared to win ugly, even if a squad packed with attacking verve suggests otherwise. If anything, the 12-month postponement of Euro 2020 has worked in England’s favour, too, as so many young Lions have received a year’s extra education before the big tournament.
Could the stars align? We haven’t seen a crop quite like this for some time, and while England doesn’t quite expect, there’s plenty of serious promise.
Euro 2020 may be a bridge too far for Southgate’s charges, but their journey over the last five years shows they’re on the right track. If they can shake off the nation’s tag as perennial underachievers in football, then immortality awaits.
England Euro 2020 squad: Who is England’s best player?
Harry Kane
A consistent scorer and leader by example, Kane is still the first name on Southgate’s teamsheet. With the Spurs man having added playmaking to his repertoire, England now have even more options to play alongside him in their frontline. The Three Lions’ shape will likely bend around their skipper’s talents.
England Euro 2020 squad: Who is England’s manager?
Gareth Southgate
Twenty-five years ago, he missed the penalty that sent England out of Euro 96; now he’s exorcising personal demons. Sensible Gaz squeezes goals from set plays; could such pragmatism make the difference after a long domestic season?
