Newcastle United duo named in England squad - but some big names miss out for Euros

ANTHONY GORDON and Kieran Trippier have been selected in Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man England squad for this summer’s European Championships in Germany.

However, their Newcastle United team-mates, Nick Pope and Callum Wilson, have been omitted from the provisional group, which will be whittled down to a final squad of 26 next month.

Wearsider Jordan Henderson is one of the most high-profile absentees from the squad, along with out-of-form Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

There are places for uncapped quartet Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Adam Wharton though, along with Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze and Brentford striker Ivan Toney.

Luke Shaw has been selected in the squad, although Southgate admits the left-back’s injury issues mean he is a “long shot” to make the final group, which has to be submitted to UEFA by June 7.

Gordon has been selected despite the Achilles injury that kept him out of Newcastle’s final game of the season at Brentford and forced his withdrawal from the Magpies’ post-season trip to Australia.

It is hoped the winger will be available for England’s two warm-up matches ahead of the Euros, the first of which will see Southgate’s side take on Bosnia & Herzegovina at St James’ Park on June 3. Given the strength of the competition in the attacking areas of the pitch, Gordon might have to prove his fitness in those games in order to make the final cut.

Trippier proved his wellbeing in the final month of the season, and is part of the Newcastle squad that will play Tottenham in an exhibition match in Melbourne tomorrow. The 33-year-old is one of Southgate’s key defenders, and while he has spent the vast majority of his career playing at right-back, he could find himself lining up on the left of England’s back four in Germany if Shaw misses out given the lack of alternative options in the position.

Pope’s omission is something of a surprise, even though the goalkeeper only returned from a lengthy shoulder injury lay-off on the final day of the season.

While Jordan Pickford is England’s established number one, Southgate does not have a lot of experienced alternatives to the Wearsider. That might have worked in Pope’s favour, but the England boss has instead opted to select Arsenal reserve Aaron Ramsdale, Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson and Burnley’s James Trafford.

At the other end of the pitch, Wilson was part of the England squad at the last World Cup, but the Newcastle striker has struggled with injuries for much of this season. He was not included in Southgate’s squad, with the centre-forward places behind Harry Kane instead going to in-form Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins and Toney.

Henderson has had a difficult 12 months, with an aborted move to Saudi Pro League side al-Ettifaq failing to turn out as planned. A January switch to Ajax afforded the 33-year-old an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in Germany, but despite making 12 appearances for the Eredivisie club in the second half of the season, Southgate has opted to leave Henderson out of his training group.

The decision effectively marks the end of the North-Easterner’s England career after 81 senior appearances and an involvement at the last three major tournaments.

Rashford has been one of England’s key performers under Southgate, and was a major part of the side that reached the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar less than two years ago, but he has struggled with Manchester United this season, scoring just eight goals.

He was part of Southgate’s most recent squad in March, coming off the bench in the defeat to Brazil at Wembley, but has been axed in the face of strong competition in the attacking areas of the pitch.

“These are difficult calls,” said the England boss. “You are talking about players who are very good players who have been an important part of what we have done.

“With Marcus, I feel players in the same area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.

“Hendo has given himself every chance, the determining factor is the injury he picked up in the last camp, he missed five weeks and he just hasn’t been able to get to the intensity in the games since then. He is a fantastic professional and it was a difficult call to make.”

Southgate has opted to go without a number of his old guard, with Kalvin Phillips also failing to make the cut after an unsuccessful loan spell at West Ham in the second half of the campaign. The Chelsea trio of Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Raheem Sterling have also been omitted from the squad.

“There’s a lot of tournament experience now,” said Southgate, who confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White continues to make himself unavailable for England selection. “Even with our younger players. We’re really happy with where the squad is at, but everything starts from zero. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past.

“There’s no doubt what’s possible. The team have been very close before, so they know what’s possible, but you’ve got to do it game by game.”

England’s opening group game at the Euros pits them against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, June 16. They then take on Denmark (June 20) and Slovenia (June 25) in their other twio group matches.