Gareth Southgate must cut six players ahead of Tuesday's 11pm deadline after Mason Greenwood withdrew due to injury; Southgate's main fitness concern is Harry Maguire; England have friendlies vs Austria and Romania before Croatia opener on June 13
Wednesday 2 June 2021 06:26, UK
Gareth Southgate will name his final 26-man squad for Euro 2020 at 5pm on Tuesday - and the England boss has some big decisions to make.
Southgate named a provisional 33-man squad last week, allowing him time to include injury doubts such as Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips.
On Tuesday morning, Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood withdrew from England's Euro 2020 squad after his club announced that playing in the competition would not be "beneficial" for an ongoing injury problem.
However, Southgate must cut six more players and submit his final selection to UEFA, ahead of the formal deadline of 11pm.
Jesse Lingard is set to be one of the players omitted from Southgate's final squad.
Watch a special England squad announcement programme - including Gareth Southgate's press conference - on Sky Sports News from 4-7pm and follow with our live blog on the Sky Sports website and app.
A key headline from the squad of 26 will be the inclusion - or otherwise - of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
After being left out of England's last squad for the World Cup Qualifiers in March, the Liverpool defender's fate is sure to be a major talking point.
However, the outstanding performances of Reece James and Kyle Walker in the Champions League final, together with their ability to also play in a central back three, would appear to have made them undroppable.
Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier has helped Atletico Madrid win the La Liga title.
The other key decisions for Southgate are likely to focus on a number of individual choices, and how he sees the balance of the squad across different positions.
If Maguire is included, it would be expected that both first-time centre-back call-ups in Ben White and Ben Godfrey would then miss out. One of Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady would also be likely to be jettisoned.
Ollie Watkins could be set to benefit from Greenwood's withdrawal in the final 26, while there is unlikely to be space for both Jesse Lingard and James Ward-Prowse in the midfield.
Finally, one of the four goalkeepers will also be surplus to requirements. That means either Aaron Ramsdale or Sam Johnstone missing out.
With the exception of Greenwood and barring injuries, all other 11 England players who were involved in last week's European finals will join up with the rest of the national squad in time for the team's final warm-up game against Romania in Middlesbrough on Sunday, Sky Sports News has been told.
The five Manchester United players who were included in the 33-man provisional England squad for the Euros will arrive at the Darlington training base in time to watch their team-mates take on Austria at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday.
But it is unlikely any of those United players who suffered an agonising penalty shoot-out loss to Villarreal in the Europa League final will be involved in the matchday squad.
The seven Chelsea and Manchester City players involved in the Champions League final will join up in time for the second friendly, also at the Riverside, on Sunday night. Sky Sports News has been told those players are unlikely to play any part in the Romania game.
Southgate has had good news on the injury front so far - both Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips have taken a full part in both training sessions at Rockliffe Hall, since the squad joined up on Saturday.
Henderson has not played any competitive football since picking up a groin injury in the Merseyside derby in February. Phillips dislocated his shoulder in the closing minutes of Leeds United's last game of the season.
The England manager's main concern remains over the fitness of Harry Maguire.
The centre-back's ankle ligament injury meant he missed Manchester United's defeat in the Europa League final last week, and no decision has yet been taken on whether he will be fit enough to represent his country in the Euros.
Sky Sports News has learned that even after the 26-man squad is named, Southgate is likely to have some form of "standby list".
Because of the unique challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, each of the 24 nations in the finals can make limitless changes to their squad up until their first game in the tournament. For England, that means a further 12 days, until June 13 when they play Croatia at Wembley.
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Sheffield United).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Godfrey (Everton), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City, Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Brighton).
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (West Ham), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton).
Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)*, Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
*Withdrawn from squad
Sky Sports Fantasy Football brings you the England starting line-up for their first game of Euro 2021, in accordance with the points they accrued during the season.
Gareth Southgate has named his provisional 33-man England squad for Euro 2020. Choose your starting XI for the opening match against Croatia on June 13 at Wembley.
We look at England's Euro 2020 fixtures in 2021, as well as their potential route through the knockout stages.
