So it’s finally here. Two and a half years of friendlies, during which England have had to balance dealing with their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup with a nervous wait to host their first major tournament in 30 years, are almost over.
Terry Venables has selected his 22-man squad tasked with landing the Three Lions’ first tournament success for three decades.
Below we take a look at the men who will be carrying the expectations of a nation on their shoulders over the next three weeks.
England Euro 96 squad
- David Seaman (Arsenal)
- Gary Neville (Manchester United)
- Stuart Pearce (Nottingham Forest)
- Paul Ince (Inter Milan)
- Tony Adams (Arsenal)
- Gareth Southgate (Aston Villa)
- David Platt (Arsenal)
- Paul Gascoigne (Rangers)
- Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers)
- Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Darren Anderton (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Steve Howey (Newcastle United)
- Tim Flowers (Blackburn Rovers)
- Nick Barmby (Middlesbrough)
- Jamie Redknapp (Liverpool)
- Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Steve McManaman (Liverpool)
- Les Ferdinand (Newcastle United)
- Phil Neville (Manchester United)
- Steve Stone (Nottingham Forest)
- Robbie Fowler (Liverpool)
- Ian Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)
Players bios
Goalkeepers
1. David Seaman (Arsenal) Age: 32 Caps: 24
Ever-present in the Premier League last season, the Arsenal man will be one of the first name’s on Venables’ team sheet at Wembley on 8 June. His reputation took a knock when he was beaten from 50 yards as the Gunners lost the Cup-Winners’ Cup final to Real Zaragoza a year ago, but the chaos at Highbury over the vacant manager’s post, Seaman remains the real deal for club and country.
13. Tim Flowers (Blackburn Rovers) Age: 29 Caps: 8
A Premier League winner with Blackburn a year ago, Flowers has lived up to his reputation as the country’s most expensive ‘keeper since he was signed from Southampton in 1993. A capable back-up choice, he’ll likely get the nod should Seaman be de-commissioned.
22. Ian Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) Age: 24 Caps: 2
The rookie of the three goalkeepers, Walker made a solid England debut in a friendly against Hungary earlier this year. Tottenham’s former trainee has made the number one shirt his own at White Hart Lane and may have designs on doing the same for the Three Lions in years to come.
Defenders
2. Gary Neville (Manchester United) Age: 21 Caps: 10
Already a Premier League winner at 21, Euro ’96 is likely to be the first in a long line of tournaments for England for Neville – if his stellar rise remains on course. The confidence gained from this year’s Double win with Manchester United, as well as his general all-round form since displacing Paul Parker as Alex Ferguson’s first-choice right-back, should in itself be enough to propel him all guns blazing into this summer’s tournament.
3. Stuart Pearce (Nottingham Forest) Age: 34 Caps: 65
The last kick Pearce took at a major tournament for England cannoned back off the legs of Germany goalkeeper Bodo Illgner in the Italia ’90 semi-final. At 34, he might be feeling fortunate to be getting what will surely be a final chance at glory with the Three Lions. Graeme Le Saux’s broken leg suffered back in November opened the door for the Nottingham Forest veteran to come back into the side, and in the Blackburn man’s absence Pearce will likely line-up against Switzerland on 8 June.
5. Tony Adams (Arsenal) Age: 29 Caps: 40
Tony Adams’ determination to confront and conquer his much publicised struggles with addiction have won him deserved admirers throughout the game and beyond, but it will be as nothing compared to the plaudits should he lead England to victory on home soil this summer. The first player to represent England who was born after the 1966 World Cup victory, it would be a fitting narrative if he were the player to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy in the Royal Box on 30 June.
6. Gareth Southgate (Aston Villa) Age: 25 Caps: 4
Still a novice in international terms, the Villa man looks to have won Terry Venables’ trust in the centre of defence and will likely line up alongside Tony Adams against Switzerland. It seems odd to think Southgate only made his England bow as recently as December, but he already looks an assured presence at the back for the Three Lions. Could be the first tournament of many.
12. Steve Howey (Newcastle United) Age: 24 Caps: 4
Likely to be in the squad as back-up but off the back off a strong season at St James’s Park, there will be few reservations about turning to him if the need arises – provided he has recovered mentally from being a part of Newcastle’s Premier League title implosion last season under Kevin Keegan.
16. Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur) Age: 21 Caps: 1
Maybe a gamble to include a back-up at central defence with so little international experience, the Spurs man is maybe the surprise name in the squad. Yet the 21-year-old has become a part of the furniture at White Hart Lane, with three assured seasons behind him during which he has been a regular at the heart of the team’s defence. If he gets the nod and does well, it could be the beginning of a long international career.
19. Phil Neville (Manchester United) Age: 19 Caps: 1
A useful option for Venables, if for no other reason than his versatility, the junior Neville brother is still feeling his way into first-team life at Old Trafford. It’s not much more than a year since the 19-year-old made his professional debut, but with a Premier League title already under his belt, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t ride that wave of success into the tournament.
Midfielders
4. Paul Ince (Inter Milan) Age: 28 Caps: 19
Could provide the steel that Venables needs at the heart of his midfield, particularly with a sold enough first season in Serie A with Inter behind him. Ince will have been disappointed that his new team failed to challenge for the title in Italy last term, though a successful summer with England would more than make up for any regret on that front you feel, not to mention raising his stock for challenges ahead on the continent.
7. David Platt (Arsenal) Age: 29 Caps: 58
A hero of Italia ’90 and one of England’s few players to have experienced domestic football abroad, the former Bari, Sampdoria and Juventus man has made a fine start to life back in the Premier League with Arsenal, though whether that continues into next term remains to be seen. With the long-term future of Gunners boss Bruce Rioch – whom Platt has credited with facilitating his fine season in North London – far from secure, Venables will be hoping that uncertainty at club level doesn’t affect the 29-year-old’s focus this summer.
8. Paul Gascoigne (Rangers) Age: 29 Caps 38
Back on UK soil after three years in Rome with Lazio, Gascoigne was at his majestic best as Rangers won the Double up in Scotland, but doubts remain over whether the quality of the top flight north of the border is exactly what the 29-year-old needed ahead of the tournament of his life. There also remains the question of which Paul Gascoigne the team will get this summer. As always with Gascoigne, it’s hard to shake the feeling that either glory or catastrophe awaits.
11. Darren Anderton (Tottenham Hotspur) Age: 24 Caps: 11
The man who famously turned down Alex Ferguson missed most of last season through injury, but all the signals are that it won’t prevent Venables from bringing him straight back into an England line-up where he had become a regular feature. If he can rediscover anything like the form he showed during his first two seasons at Tottenham, England will have a player to be reckoned with in the summer.
14. Nick Barmby (Middlesbrough) Age: 22 Caps: 6
Middlesbrough’s most expensive signing made a so-so start to life at the Riverside Stadium last term, and looked more than a little unsettled with a somewhat less stellar cast of attacking talent around him than he enjoyed at Tottenham. Will be kept in reserve by Venables when the tournament kicks off but will leap on any opportunity to put himself in the transfer shop window ahead of the 1996/97 season.
15. Jamie Redknapp (Liverpool) Age: 22 Caps: 4
It seems hard to believe that Liverpool were still league champions when they signed Redknapp, particularly so now that England’s most successful side are now six long, long years without a title win. The 22-year-old hasn’t moved the Reds much closer to returning to their perch since, but much is expected of him if he can force his way into the starting XI for the Three Lions this summer. Could be a wildcard for Venables.
17. Steve McManaman (Liverpool) Age: 24 Caps: 10
Another of Liverpool’s ‘Spice Boys’ left embarrassed after their Wembley pitch inspection ahead of May’s FA Cup final – complete with brilliant-white Armani suits – was followed by a 1-0 defeat to the old enemy Manchester United. The nagging questions about whether McManaman would rather help wrest the Premier League title from Old Trafford or focus on an auxiliary career as a male model might be assuaged by a helping England to the final on 30th July.
20. Steve Stone (Nottingham Forest) Age: 24 Caps: 6
It’s amazing that Stone still has a career at all, considering that at the age of 24 he has already suffered three serious leg breaks, but his form for Nottingham Forest over the last few years has cemented his position as a highly useful squad player for the Three Lions.
Strikers
9. Alan Shearer (Newcastle United) Age: 25 Caps: 23
It’s been 21 months since Shearer scored a goal for England. During that time, the national temperature has risen exponentially fretting over whether the Premier League’s most lethal striker will be in the kind of form England need him in when their Euro ’96 kicks off against Switzerland. Venables has reportedly given the Newcastle man assurances that he will line up at Wembley come what may, but beyond that the Three Lions will need returns from their leading marksman if they’re to make it out of a tough group.
10. Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur) Age: 30 Caps: 15
It almost feels a trick of the light that Sheringham is already into his 30s yet has played so infrequently for his country. Never the quickest striker even in his youth at Millwall and Nottingham Forest, but England’s 1966 vintage (the 30-year-old was born a couple of months before the World Cup final against West Germany) has the intelligence and fleet of foot to be a perfect foil for Shearer this summer.
18. Les Ferdinand (Newcastle United) Age: 29 Caps: 10
Arguably in the prime of his career and never likely to have a better chance to star at a major tournament, Ferdinand will have to dislodge the SAS partnership of Shearer and Sheringham if he’s to make his mark this summer. Still reeling from the heartbreak of failing to land a first Premier League title with Newcastle a year ago, he remains a key member of Venables squad.
21. Robbie Fowler (Liverpool) Age: 21 Caps: 3
Could prove himself one of the rising stars of international football if things go his way in June. Still a rookie by centre-forward standards, but at 21 and with back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards to his name, Fowler will be ready and raring to deliver if England go deep into the tournament.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2MBkY6X
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