When is the England squad being announced? Gareth Southgate picks for Brazil and Belgium friendlies
Gareth Southgate is primed to name his England squad for a round of friendlies next week as he makes preparations for Euro 2024.
The manager is tipped to recall Joe Gomez and Jack Butland as the Three Lions explore their options ahead of the tournament in Germany.
The squad will be for the friendlies against Brazil on Saturday, March 23, and against Belgium on Tuesday, March 26 – as the Premier League takes a break.
Both games will be played at Wembley Stadium and will be the final friendlies until two Euro warm-ups on June 3 and 7, against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland respectively.
England begin their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia on June 16, before group stage matches against Denmark and Slovenia follow.
When will Gareth Southgate name his England squad?
The squad will be named at 2pm on Thursday, March 14.
Who could be named in the squad?
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez could be back for the first time since 2020, while goalkeeper Butland is tipped for a return to the fray after five years out.
Ivan Toney is also being linked to a return. The Brentford striker had to miss the early part of the 2023-24 season due to a betting-related ban.
Southgate will likely name around 25 players but will be without established stars Reece James, Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier, and Ben Chilwell due to injuries.
This could lead to Ben White also being given the nod, while Ezri Konsa, Eric Dier, and Jarrad Branthwaite are also in the picture.
Who was in the last England squad?
England haven’t played since their qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia in November. On that occasion, Southgate picked:
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Cole Palmer (Manchester City), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
