Gareth Southgate’s England squad for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium has been announced, with notable inclusions being Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and a return for Ivan Toney.
This is Southgate’s last chance to try out new players in his Three Lions camp, before naming his training squad for Euro 2024 warm-up games against Bosnia and Iceland.
An injury crisis has meant players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw, Nick Pope and Jack Grealish are unavailable.
But this also brings a chance for fresh faces to prove they should be regulars in the England squad, including a first call-up for 21-year-old centre back Branthwaite.
The Everton defender has stood out in the Premier League, as has Liverpool’s Joe Gomez who returns to the national team, his last cap was in 2020. Playing across the entire back-four for his club this season, his versatility could make him a crucial squad member for Southgate.
On the other hand, Kalvin Phillips has been dropped from the squad which comes as a surprise given his consistent game-time under Southgate despite struggling for form at club level.
He made a loan move to West Ham in January in order to revive the type of performances he showed at Leeds, making him an England ever-present. But suspension mixed with unconvincing displays have meant he’s missed out on this occasion.
Embed from Getty ImagesOne player who will be looking to make an impact is Ivan Toney, returning to the England squad at the first time of asking since his suspension ended.
Scoring four goals in nine games for Brentford, he’ll be hoping to make his case to be second-choice to Harry Kane for England. However, in Ollie Watkins he faces tough competition with the Aston Villa star having the season of his life, with 31 goal involvements in 39 games this campaign.
Here’s the full England squad for games against Brazil and Belgium:
Sam Johnstone, Aaron Ramsdale, Jordan Pickford.
Jarrad Branthwaite, Ben Chiwell, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker, John Stones.
Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, James Maddison, Declan Rice.
Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins.
