England squad confirmed as three stars dropped from Lee Carsley’s final selection | Football | Sport
England interim boss Lee Carsley has named the final Three Lions squad of his tenure before Thomas Tuchel succeeds him at the start of next year. The former Everton midfielder has brought in four fresh faces following October’s Nations League squad selection, with three players dropping out.
Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo misses out through injury, as does Manchester City defender John Stones. Meanwhile, Nick Pope is replaced by former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The shot-stopper’s Southampton team-mate Taylor Harwood-Bellis is a surprise inclusion, while fellow defender Lewis Hall is also handed his first call-up after starring for Newcastle in recent weeks. Curtis Jones has made the squad as well after impressing for Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer has been handed a place, despite missing Blues training this week after picking up a knock against Manchester Unitedat the weekend.
England will travel to Greece for their penultimate Nations League match under Carsley next Thursday after suffering a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Euro 2004 champions last month.
The Three Lions will then host the Republic of Ireland next Sunday as they look to end their campaign in style.
England have dropped to second place in the League B Group 2 table after losing to Greece and will be aiming to pick up the six points on offer to ensure they win promotion back to the top tier of the competition. They were relegated from League A in September 2022 following a 1-0 reverse against Italy in Milan two months ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
That Nations League campaign saw England failing to win a single match out of six as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Hungary at Molineux.
This year, England have fared much better in the competition having overcome Finland on two occasions after opening with a victory in Ireland. And their next two matches will provide players with their final opportunity to impress Tuchel in an England shirt ahead of his arrival.
Discussing the inclusion of uncapped duo Harwood-Bellis and Hall, Carsley explained: “Both [are] players who have played a lot of minutes this season, showed they can play at a high level. I know them both really well.
“Taylor is a player who really deserves it, he’s a brilliant captain. Lewis has taken his time to settle in but has shown he can be consistent. He’s got a great left foot. It’s a good challenge to see if he can maintain that squad.”
England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton)
Defenders: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton)
Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool)
Forwards: Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)
