Although he is not part of England’s final European Championship selection, Jesse Lingard will probably get a basic place in the friendly match against Austria on Wednesday evening. The six fit players who did not survive the last selection will remain with the selection for the exhibition matches with Austria and Romania, Southgate said at a press conference on Tuesday evening after the announcement of his selection. The seventh dropout, Mason Greenwood, is not available due to injuries.
Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Ben Godfrey, James Ward-Prowse, Ollie Watkins, Lingard and Greenwood dropped out of the pre-selection. Southgate will address the question of which players were close to a place in the selection at the press conference. “It was very difficult to get the news to Jesse. He has long been a major part of the national team. James Ward-Prowse has been captain of the Under-21. Ollie Watkins has a very good season with Aston Villa behind. the back.”
Large number of right backs in England selection creates hilarity
Gareth Southgate announced the 26-man selection of England on Tuesday evening.
“I gave those three the opportunity to go home if they wanted to, but they all wanted to remain part of the group,” says the elector. “They know they will play a part in these two games. I think Jesse will start tomorrow. The dedication they have shown is exemplary. They were disappointed when I got the news out yesterday, but they were satisfied with it. The atmosphere within the group is therefore still good.”
The English team has home advantage at the European Championship, as all three group matches are played at Wembley. The first opponent of the Southgate team on June 13 is Croatia. “It’s nice for the players to be able to play at Wembley, with the supporters back in the stadium,” said Southgate. “Without supporters, something is missing. As a player you also want your family to be there. We hope the fans can help us, but in the end we have to do it ourselves by playing well.”
“We play against the vice world champion, we play a derby against Scotland and we meet with the Czech Republic one of the teams that has developed the most in Europe in recent times,” the national coach looks ahead to the group stage. He indicates that his setup at the European Championship has not yet been cast in concrete. “Everyone hopes to play well in these two matches and our choices can still change. We have an idea about what we want, but we have to be flexible. The players have the chance to prove themselves in these two games.”
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