Will link to it later, but Portugal's squad looks decent. Embalo + Romario Baro going. Crazy how reliant they are on players from Benfica, Porto + Sporting though. Utter dominance in talent. Something i've been thinking a lot about recently and i'm not sure whether it's a positive or negative.
I asked the same question a few days ago. It’ll probably be on Monday now, when the U21s and the final senior squad is announced. I just hope there’s a few new faces in. This squad desperately needs freshening up.
Apparently James and Chalobah are in, so James won't be in the U21s, which is disappointing but not exactly a surprise.
I'm a little surprised. Would have thought that the FA want him to go to a "real" tournament after the season he's had. For all we know, he could progress to the seniors by next year.
It's all down to whether they see him as a genuine midfield option isn't it? They might not have the balls to drop one of KWP or Kenny, let alone both.
Seems harsh on Sterling + Embleton (who is injured anyway). Pearce is just in there because of a dearth of left backs. Who knows about Suliman. He's being released this summer, not sure why he pulled out in March. They've announced the squad super late for the last few years too. Usually after the squad has already met up. Be prepared to be underwhelmed though. I've tried to map out a squad of 20 i'd like to see but there's zero point when there's no sign of them veering off the path set in the U20 cycle so far.
Yeah, my concern with Embleton was his fitness. With Sterling, I just question whether we need him in there when we have James and Edwards in such good form. That's a shame. It seemed like a good opportunity for a refresh. Still hoping to see a couple of 00s or 01s in there. Who in particular would you like to see come in?
Dujon Sterling? He's had a good season himself. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with his inclusion.
A bit different. Goalkeepers: Ellery Balcombe (Brentford), Nathan Trott (West Ham United) Defenders: Jayden Bogle (Derby County), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Max Lowe (Derby County), Tom Pearce (Leeds United), Steven Sessegnon (Fulham), Easah Suliman (Aston Villa) Midfielders: Sam Field (West Bromwich Albion), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Dwight McNeil (Burnley), Josh Sims (Southampton), Joe Willock (Arsenal) Forwards: Kyle Edwards (West Bromwich Albion), Eberechi Eze (Queens Park Rangers), George Hirst (OH Leuven), Danny Loader (Reading), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough)
No Andre Dozzell or Flynn Downes from an ITFC perspective which is a bit disappointing, but will probably help them for next season
I’m still a little meh on some of those selections and can’t quite put my finger on the justification of them being selected to be honest.
Who are the obvious ones that have missed out? I can think of Godfrey and Aarons for a start but maybe Norwich want them rested after a long season.
Interesting looking squad. Good to see they added 97s with 00s because with the best 98s/99s in seniors or u21s there isn't much depth. We could question the 97s I suppose but maybe Lowe/Sims could be in the bigger picture. Potential for growth with opportunity. Suliman & Hirst the only questionable one's although I don't know a lot about Kyle Edwards.
There are quite a few players I'd want in ahead of Suleiman and Hirst. I'd go with Oxford (assuming Godfrey was pulled) and Edwards (Nketiah and Loader should be enough strikers and we could do with more creativity). And seeing as Lowe is there you have to ask why he's going and other 97s aren't. Tuanzebe would have been a good one to bring back into the fold before he loses youth eligibility. They could even have given Patrick Roberts a call.
Weird squad really. Could make an interesting XI but past that there’s just some strange old decisions. Playing Lowe just feels like you’re prolonging the search for left backs for the next U21 cycle.
Since the U19s didn't qualify for the Euros, surely we should've seen more than Gallagher, Guehi, Loader and Sessegnon? Why not Lamptey or McEachran or Panzo or Saka or Harper or Nmecha or Appiah or Gomes?
yeah, i'm not sure what the goal is from this week. It's clearly not a side to progress into the U21s.