England Euro 2016 Squad Announcement – Thatsagoal Reactions

Roy has finally made his mind up on his preliminary squad, the lads have a final chance now of impressing the boss in the next free friendlies before he cuts three of them out and confirms the group who will be making the short travel to France with the competition starting in June.

 

Roy Hodgson will now have to narrow his 26-man squad down to 23 players by the time the 31^st May deadline comes around before they start their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia on 11st June.

 

England’s Euro 2016 26-man Squad

 

Goalkeepers:

Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley).

 

I don’t believe there is any surprise with the options here, the number one choice Joe Hart was never in doubt, along with Forster as back up. Tom Heaton has earned promotion to the Premier League with Burnley and has definitely earned his place here after being a solid part of their side this season.

 

Defenders:

Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool).

 

In defence we have three centre halves and four full backs, it appears that Roy has decided to stick with Cahill and Smalling as his main partnership as it would be a shock to see John Stones start considering his recent poor form for his club. There is no surprise with the full-backs here, all four have had solid campaigns for their clubs and gives us an idea in the way Roy wants England to play. They are all quite attacking, full of pace and happy to overlap the wingers and I’m sure we will see them all power up the pitch when the competition starts.

 

Midfielders:

Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Andros Townsend (Newcastle United), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

 

The midfield section is full of players, going into each player would take too long but I can say this is where the biggest shocks are. There are some players who have deserved their places, Alli can play an attacking role and compliments Kane upfront as shown all season. Dier also from Spurs can sit in front of the back four and is very strong in that position he can play a part of the spine of the team along with Alli and Kane. Lallana and Milner have impressed under Klopp and they will definitely be confident they deserve their places in the squad. Ross Barkley is a future star and although he hasn't reached his full potential yet he is another one who deserves to be in the Euro 2016 England squad.

 

Looking at some of the players in this midfield it has been evident on Twitter alone that many people feel they shouldn't be anywhere near the squad. First of all, Fabian Delph has pretty much been part of the Manchester City reserves since Christmas and how he has the squad is anyone’s guess, the role he plays can be filled by the likes of Barkley, Alli or Henderson so is really a surprise, undeserved inclusion. People may question the likes of Henderson as he has missed a lot of the season through injury with Liverpool but he is now claiming to be fully fit and can fill out that midfield either going forward or backwards.

 

Andros Townsend is another one of those that has been questioned, he has hardly been involved all season, with only 21 appearances all season for both Spurs and Newcastle he didn't have an impact at all and it seemed all he could do is sprint down the line and thrash a ball into the stands instead of into the box for one of his strikers to latch on to. He has managed a couple of goals under Rafa at Newcastle and slightly improved his performances but enough to make the squad? I don't believe so.

 

Finally, the last midfielder to be questioned is Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. He only has three appearances for his club this season after suffering a terrible leg break, an injury not wished upon anyone. However, when he has pulled an England shirt on before he hasn't impressed much and I can’t see why he would start above some of the other players. Is this a case of Roy picking someone purely based on their name? If so it is such a shame considering there is some genuine hard working, talented players missing out.

 

Strikers:

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

 

Looking forward to the striking options it isn't really a surprise to see who has made the squad, some people questioned whether Rooney should go, it would of been a terrible decision not to take such a talented player, our captain and someone who can boost the confidence of the younger players and pass his experience on. The one surprise here is the inclusion of Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old Manchester United striker was training with the squad but will be surprised with his call up. Whether he will travel is highly unlikely but this is a confidence boost that can only do the young English lad good. Roy was asked on his chances of making the final squad to which he replied “There's no reason why he can't knock someone off their perch, but it will be harder than some people might expect” although it would take something very special to take a place off the others.

 

The squad is full of young talent with a few older heads in there to help guide them with their experience. As an ambitious England fan we say we have a chance before every competition and every time we are never rewarded for our support. However, this year we have serious talent within our squad and is this the time we can genuinely believe we can go far and possibly win it?

 

Players Not in the Euro 2016 England Squad

 

Now we’ll take a quick look at some of the players due to miss out this summer as they didn’t feature in Roy’s squad when he named his preliminary squad.

 

Antonio of West Ham has had a very impressive season, West Ham have done well until slowing towards the end and missing out on Europe but if you look at the assists and goals for Antonio he actually racks up a total of 15 combined, compared to 10 of Lallana, 9 of Sterling, 6 of Ashford and 6 of Townsend. Should be have been given a chance over some of those named?

 

Another couple of West Ham players have been missed out by Roy here, first of all Mark Noble. He has been a key part of the midfield of his club for years now and has always done his job wonderfully. He’s a solid player who wears his heart on his sleeve so it’s a shame to see others getting picking over him when only having made 3 appearances and 1 start (which came on the last game of the season).

 

Once again, another West Ham player to miss out is Andy Carroll, with six goals in his last 14 league games fans have been calling for him to make the trip. He offers something very different from the those selected, he has height, power, can hold the ball up as well as being just as good with his feet as he is with his head. He could of been a very useful asset in the competition when England wanted to switch the play up but unfortunately for Andy it will be another summer at home.

 

Theo Walcott was also not named by Roy but honestly I am not surprised, he has been a young prospect for England for years now but many forget he is actually 27 and should be in his peak. He has struggled to start for his own club this season and has never really delivered when it has mattered and with younger players in the squad doing the same job better it is not surprise he shall be watching from somewhere else.

 

Baines and Jagielka miss out as well from Everton, this may be slightly due to their poor defence this season under Martinez. Many were putting Jags and Smalling as the key partnership for England so it is a surprise he hasn't even made the squad and he will have to sit at home at cheer on for his team mate Stones instead. Baines not travelling is explainable, he hasn't been as good as he has been in previous years and with the better performances of the other full backs this season it is kind of expected that he will not be making the trip.

 

I will finish this with the player not going to make it in Danny Welbeck, I am sure he would of been included in the squad but a terrible injury means he didn't have a choice, our thoughts go out to him and wish him a speedy recovery.

 

Finishing the article, we hope whatever squad Roy decides does the business over in France and brings an international trophy home for the fans who have been craving it for years.

 

COME ON ENGLAND!