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England will step up their preparations for Euro 2020 by playing the first of their two pre-tournament friendlies against Austria at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday.

Gareth Southgate named his final 26-man squad on Tuesday with Trent Alexander-Arnold making the cut and Jesse Lingard, James Ward-Prowse and Ollie Watkins all missing out.

The Three Lions will not be at full strength for the game against Austria in Middlesbrough as representatives from Chelsea and Manchester City are yet to join up with the squad following Saturday’s Champions League final.

Kieran Trippier, Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish could all start and will hope to catch Southgate’s eye ahead of England’s opening match of the tournament against Croatia on Sunday 13 June.

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England team news: The expected 4-3-3 line-up against Austria without rested Chelsea and Man City players

England are currently second favourites to win Euro 2020 according to the bookies, behind 2018 World Cup champions France and ahead of the world’s No 1 ranked team, Belgium.

Here is all you need to know ahead of England vs Austria:

How to watch England vs Austria

• Date: Wednesday 2 June
• Kick-off time: 8pm [BST]
• Venue: Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
• TV: Live on ITV from 7.30pm
• Stream: Watch online on the ITV Hub

England could come up against some familiar faces when they host Franco Foda’s team.

Austria’s most high-profile player David Alaba, who has agreed to join Real Madrid from Bayern Munich, has been named in the squad and usually features in central midfield when playing for his country.

Former West Ham and Stoke City forward Marko Arnautovic is also in contention to play, as is highly-rated RB Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and one-time Newcastle United loanee Valentino Lazaro.

Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann is the only England-based player in the 26-man squad.

Austria’s Euro 2020 squad – in full

Goalkeepers: Daniel Bachmann (Watford), Pavao Pervan (Wolfsburg), Alexander Schlager (LASK)

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern), Aleksandar Dragovic (Leverkusen), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen) Martin Hinteregger (Frankfurt), Stefan Lainer (Mönchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg)

Midfielders: Julian Baumgartlinger (Leverkusen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Stefan Ilsanker (Frankfurt), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig), Valentino Lazaro (Internazionale), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Louis Schaub (Luzern), Xaver Schlager (Wolfsburg), Alessandro Schöpf (Schalke)

Forwards: Marko Arnautović (Shanghai Port), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (Stuttgart), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz)

England team news

With none of Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mason Mount, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden or Raheem Sterling available to Southgate, England will have a makeshift look about them in their penultimate game before Euro 2020.

Atletico Madrid’s Trippier will be looking to enhance his claims for a start against Croatia at right back in the absence of James and Walker, while Luke Shaw can do likewise on the opposite flank with Chilwell unavailable.

Jude Bellingham may be involved with Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips both recovering from injuries. Grealish will don the No 7 shirt at the tournament and will hope to put on a good display given neither Mount nor Foden will feature.

And Southgate confirmed that Lingard will start the game despite being left out of the 26-man squad. The Manchester United midfielder ended the season in fine form while on loan at West Ham and is on England’s standby list for the tournament.

i‘s predicted England line up

Read More

England team news: The expected 4-3-3 line-up against Austria without rested Chelsea and Man City players

More on the Premier League

• ‘I want Burnley to be the UK’s favourite underdog’
• Deeney: ‘Middle-class white people are outraged about racism now – that’s what stokes change’
• The making of Everton’s versatile defender whose rise surprised even his own manager
• Hall: Martial is running out of chances to prove he is part of the future at Man Utd
• The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3uFPj8i

And so, after all of the social media outrage, the fierce debates over WhatsApp groups and in pub beer gardens and the column inches dedicated to the controversy in national newspapers, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been included in England’s 26-man squad for Euro 2020 after all.

It had looked as though Gareth Southgate was set to swerve Liverpool’s chance creation king for the second England squad running, with La Liga title winner Kieran Trippier, Premier League title winner Kyle Walker and Champions League winner Reece James tipped to make the cut instead.

Consigning one of that quartet to England’s European Championship scrapheap seemed a thankless task which is perhaps why, in the end, Southgate decided to avoid the hassle entirely and just select all four of them.

And the fact that Southgate has picked them all raises the prospect of Alexander-Arnold reprising the role of his Liverpool academy days by lining up in central midfield, as opposed to at right-back or wing-back where the entirety of his 191 senior matches for club and country have been played.

Read More

England Euro 2020 squad – in full: The 26-man line-up for the Euros this summer

Southgate’s decision to choose Alexander-Arnold might be perceived by some to be a sign of weakness, of bowing to pressure from supporters in order to avoid having to make a bold, unpopular decision. Leaving out the Bens, White and Godfrey, was never going to incite England fans to grab their pitchforks and head on down to St George’s Park.

But to the England manager’s credit, he hinted at Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion – possibly in a midfield role – during his provisional squad announcement last week. “I know people feel I have an obsession with right-backs,” Southgate acknowledged wearily.

“I just see four good footballers. Trippier can play right-back or left-back, Trent can play right-back, wing-back – I think he can play in midfield. In the last few days, I’ve seen Reece James play on the right of a [back] three, wing-back and in the middle of midfield.

“We’re going to a tournament and those sorts of flexible players that can fulfil different roles but are good footballers are going to be hugely important to us.”

Although Alexander-Arnold’s form has fluctuated during a tricky campaign for Liverpool, he ended it in fine form, providing four of his seven Premier League assists and one of his two goals this season, in the final nine games to help propel Jurgen Klopp’s side into an improbable third-place finish.

And for the second season running, Alexander-Arnold was statistically the most creative defender in the division, edging out another of England’s full-backs Luke Shaw. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Alexander-Arnold is in the bronze medal position for chances created in the division, behind two No 10s – James Maddison in silver and surprise, surprise, Kevin De Bruyne in gold.

Southgate knows all about Alexander-Arnold’s attacking quality, of course. He picked him as England’s wide-eyed wildcard after just a half a season in Liverpool’s back four for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His reservations about Alexander-Arnold have revolved around his defensive aptitude and ability to adapt to a wing-back role when required.

That is why he might just be tempted to give the Alexander-Arnold-in-midfield experiment a go during England’s pre-tournament friendlies against Austria and Romania this week. Perhaps Southgate has taken inspiration from former Chelsea goal-getter Hernan Crespo, who has successfully re-deployed Dani Alves – arguably the best right-back of the 21st Century – into a playmaker for Brazilian champions Sao Paolo.

Southgate’s attempts to cram as many right backs into his starting XI as possible feels like a distinctly 2021 phenomenon. Ahead of Euro 2004, it was all about the central midfielders as Sven Goran-Eriksson tried (unsuccessfully) to shoehorn Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham into a flat midfield four.

But the right-back position has evolved and the demands of it have become more nuanced in recent times, to the extent that using one as an attacking midfielder isn’t nearly as outlandish as it once might have been.

More on the Premier League

• ‘I want Burnley to be the UK’s favourite underdog’
• Deeney: ‘Middle-class white people are outraged about racism now – that’s what stokes change’
• The making of Everton’s versatile defender whose rise surprised even his own manager
• Hall: Martial is running out of chances to prove he is part of the future at Man Utd
• The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/34DwcBa

Gareth Southgate addressed his provisional England squad for the final time on Tuesday morning before whittling down the group to just 26.

The Three Lions kick off their Euro 2020 campaign against Croatia on 13 June and with 19 different players being utilised in March’s World Cup qualifiers, the jury is still out about how they will line-up.

If Southgate follows the pattern set by the 2018 World Cup, those who get the nod for the opening fixture can be confident of keeping their place. At that tournament, he only changed his starting XI on one occasion, and that was in the final group game against Belgium when his side had already qualified.

The great criticism of Southgate three years on, is that he does not appear to have settled on his best XI. A plethora of talent to pick from, granted, but with less than a fortnight to go, the England boss is running out of time to make his mind up.

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One headache which has been eased was how to accommodate Mason Greenwood after the Manchester United striker pulled out of the squad through injury.

That could leave England looking something like this against Croatia.

GK – Jordan Pickford

Pickford has kept 10 clean sheets in 31 appearances and while he’s made two errors leading to goals this season, the same number can be found on Nick Pope’s charge sheet.

RB – Kyle Walker

In March, Walker was England’s most used right-back and defensively, the 31-year-old is likely to be favoured over Reece James, Kieran Trippier, and surprise inclusion Trent Alexander-Arnold.

CB – John Stones

The only real alternatives are Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady. Stones made 22 appearances in Manchester City’s title-winning campaign, displacing £40m Nathan Ake.

CB – Harry Maguire

Maguire is a doubt having suffered an ankle injury towards the end of Manchester United’s season. The fact he was able to travel to Gdansk for the Europa League final – albeit he didn’t feature – bodes well.

LB – Ben Chilwell

Southgate will have to choose between Chilwell and Luke Shaw. The former was his preferred option in two of the recent three World Cup qualifiers, despite the United left-back having a greater tackle success rate – 64 per cent to Chilwell’s 61 per cent – in the Premier League this season. Both have registered five assists.

CM – Jordan Henderson

Henderson will likely get the nod despite injuries limiting the Liverpool captain to 21 league games this season. The other option is to field Kalvin Phillips and risk a stagnant central midfield.

CM – Declan Rice

Playing a pivotal role in West Ham’s European qualification, Rice has easily outdone Phillips for tackle success, though he’s created fewer chances.

RW – Marcus Rashford

There are still concerns over whether Rashford is 100 per cent fit and he scored just once for England in the Nations League this season. Southgate gave both the United forward and Raheem Sterling a pointed warning before the Euros.

“There is an element of them having to deliver because we have got that competition and we are also going to have to be able to refresh the team,” Southgate said. “You of course have guys who have regularly delivered and you give them opportunities but it has to be a meritocracy.”

CAM – Mason Mount

Heading into the summer as a Champions League winner, Southgate has made no secret of his admiration for the Chelsea midfielder. While Jack Grealish missed 12 league games through injury, Mount has been going from strength to strength with nine goals in all competitions for the Blues, plus two for his country in the Nations League.

LW – Phil Foden

Foden seems almost sure of a start because of his versatility across the front three and given their respective seasons, he has certainly overtaken his domestic teammate Sterling.

ST – Harry Kane

Should anyone need reminding of Kane’s latest Premier League Golden Boot, he’s had it stitched into his bespoke boots for the tournament. The Tottenham striker’s tally of 33 league goals this season is his best of the last three years.

England’s final squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling

More on football

• ‘I want Burnley to be the UK’s favourite underdog’
• Deeney: ‘Middle-class white people are outraged about racism now – that’s what stokes change’
• The making of Everton’s versatile defender whose rise surprised even his own manager
• Hall: Martial is running out of chances to prove he is part of the future at Man Utd
• The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3uGQi7Z

Captain and first choice centre-forward Harry Kane will wear the No 9 shirt as he leads England‘s bid for glory at Euro 2020.

The Tottenham striker has been confirmed as one of 26 players who will comprise the England squad at this summer’s tournament.

Jordan Pickford will wear the No 1 jersey, which suggests he will be starting in goal for the Group D fixtures against Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic.

Further forward, Kyle Walker has been handed the No 2 shirt ahead of fellow right-backs Kieran Trippier (No 12), Reece James (No 24) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (No 22) while Luke Shaw claims No 3 ahead of left-back rival Ben Chilwell (No 21).

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England Euro 2020 squad – in full: The 26-man line-up for the Euros this summer

John Stones (No 5) and Harry Maguire (No 6) would appear to be first-choice centre-backs while Declan Rice (No 4) and Jordan Henderson (No 8) have the first XI numbers in midfield.

Jack Grealish will take the No 7 shirt, which suggests the Aston Villa playmaker could have a key part to play this summer, while experienced forwards Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford takes the No 10 and 11 shirts respectively.

While the players with numbers 1-11 will be feeling confident of being in the starting line-up, Southgate will be keeping a close eye on injuries and form as the tournament progresses.

England squad numbers

1. Jordan Pickford

2. Kyle Walker

3. Luke Shaw

4. Declan Rice

5. John Stones

6. Harry Maguire

7. Jack Grealish

8. Jordan Henderson

9. Harry Kane

10. Raheem Sterling

11. Marcus Rashford

12. Kieran Trippier

13. Dean Henderson

14. Kalvin Phillips

15. Tyrone Mings

16. Conor Coady

17. Jadon Sancho

18. Dominic Calvert-Lewin

19. Mason Mount

20. Phil Foden

21. Ben Chilwell

22. Trent Alexander-Arnold

23. Sam Johnstone

24. Reece James

25. Bukayo Saka

26. Jude Bellingham

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England team vs Croatia: Predicted XI for the opening Euro 2020 fixture after squad announcement

What Southgate said about his squad

“I think every squad is difficult because we have a lot of talented players in this country” Southgate said on England’s YouTube channel.

“The most difficult thing is to not be able to take players who’ve been with us in previous matches and who are such good professionals.

“So, I know what a disappointment that is for them at the moment not to be going to a major championship.

“But we still have two friendlies to get to, and there’s been plenty of examples over the years where there have been injuries in those friendlies that have ruled people out.

“So there’s still time for those guys even though they’re not in at this moment in time.”

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cs1LCn

Gareth Southgate has named his 26-man England squad for Euro 2020.

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is included alongside Dortmund youngster Jude Bellingham and the versatile Bukayo Saka from Arsenal.

The Three Lions will be led by captain Harry Kane as they take on Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic in Group D.

The tournament begins on 11 June with England’s first match against Croatia kicking off two days later.

England Euro 2020 squad

Goalkeepers:

• Jordan Pickford
• Dean Henderson
• Sam Johnstone

Defenders:

• John Stones
• Harry Maguire 
• Tyrone Mings
• Connor Coady
• Kyle Walker
• Kieran Trippier
• Reece James
• Ben Chilwell
• Luke Shaw
• Trent Alexander-Arnold

Midfielders:

• Mason Mount
• Declan Rice 
• Jude Bellingham
• Jordan Henderson 
• Phil Foden
• Kalvin Phillips
• Jack Grealish

Forwards:

• Raheem Sterling
• Marcus Rashford
• Jadon Sancho
• Harry Kane 
• Dominic Calvert-Lewin
• Bukayo Saka

The players who missed out

Southgate’s comments that training with the provisional squad would be a “fantastic experience” for Ben Godfrey and Ben White suggested they always had their work cut out to dislodge more experienced players like Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady.

It was a similar situation for Aaron Ramsdale, who was called up to the provisional squad after Nick Pope was ruled out. Ramsdale endured a difficult campaign with Sheffield United and it would have been a major surprise if he was picked with Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson and Sam Johnstone ahead of him in the pecking order.

Southgate is a big fan of James Ward-Prowse, having worked with him previously in his role as England U21 manager, but the Southampton midfielder lacks the defensive qualities of his positional rivals Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson.

Bukayo Saka‘s ability to play in a variety of positions in defence, midfield and attack, counted in his favour as he was picked ahead of Jesse Lingard, despite the latter having a storming end to the season on loan at West Ham.

The last man to be cut was Ollie Watkins. While Mason Greenwood‘s withdrawal through injury apepared to open the door for the Aston Villa man to go as one of three centre-forwards alongside captain Harry Kane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Southgate opted to select an extra defender instead.

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3g2uKgY

Show HN: Viezly – better code review from dependency diagram
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Carlo Ancelotti has emerged as a surprise contender for the Real Madrid job following Zinedine Zidane’s departure according to widespread reports in Spain.

Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino were both being widely tipped to succeed Zidane, but the Everton boss has now been identified by his former club as a prime candidate. The Athletic reports the move is a “done deal”.

Ancelotti won four honours with Real between 2013-15, including “La Decima” – the club’s historic 10th Champions League.

Zidane has been building on that success, but announced his resignation last week having led the club to their first trophyless season in 11 years.

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In the intervening years since leaving Spain, Ancelotti had managed both Bayern Munich and Napoli, stints which both lasted under two years.

For a man who is forever keen to embrace a new project, however, it was still a shock to the Premier League when he took over at Everton in December 2019.

Guiding the Toffees to 10th in his first season, there was early talk of a title push in 2020-21 thanks to his reunion with former Real playmaker James Rodriguez and the form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Everton could not keep that momentum going and they eventually finished 10th again, a slump epitomised by a 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City on the final day of the season. By then, Rodriguez had already left for Colombia, citing tiredness.

Never in the club’s 143-year history had they lost so many games at home in one campaign. Despite the excitement surrounding Ancelotti’s appointment, Everton have seemingly not made tangible progress in terms of European qualification or trophies.

It would still represent a huge setback if they were to lose one of the world’s most decorated managers now.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have been dealing with disappointments of their own, finishing second to city rivals Atletico in La Liga and exiting the Champions League at the semi-finals.

Who could take over at Everton?

Duncan Ferguson

Ferguson has been working as Ancelotti’s assistant but took temporary charge after Marco Silva was sacked just before Christmas in 2019. The Scotsman’s man-management has been crucial and he’s also worked wonders on the training ground, particularly with Calvert-Lewin.

Eddie Howe

Howe was widely expected to take the Celtic job, but talks collapsed last week. The 43-year-old has been out of work since leaving Bournemouth.

Nuno Espirito Santo

Few saw Nuno’s departure from Wolves coming and while there were question marks against his brand of football, the Portuguese’s early years were a roaring success, winning promotion and qualifying for the Europa League.

Rafael Benitez

Benitez is among the early favourites, but his history with Liverpool would make him a controversial appointment.

More on the Premier League

• ‘I want Burnley to be the UK’s favourite underdog’
• Deeney: ‘Middle-class white people are outraged about racism now – that’s what stokes change’
• The making of Everton’s versatile defender whose rise surprised even his own manager
• Hall: Martial is running out of chances to prove he is part of the future at Man Utd
• The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3uJGRES