With the European Championship finally approaching, we at Platform thought it would be a good idea to have a little think about our squads for the coming tournament. As we all know England squads, by their very nature, cause controversy. I’m sure plenty of you will disagree with ours here as well.
Each writer is going to pick their 26 players for the Euros, an unexpected star from the England squad and predict how far they think England will get.
Will Simpson
Goalkeepers (GK) – Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope and Dean Henderson
Defenders (Def) – Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Reece James, John Stones, Ben Godfrey and Kyle Walker
Midfield (Mid) – Jude Bellingham, Jesse Lingard, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards (FW) – Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Greenwood, Ollie Watkins, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling
Prediction – England lose in the quarter-Final
Unexpected Star – James Ward-Prowse
Pete Trifunovic
GK – Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Def – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Tyrone Mings, Fikayo Tomori, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell.
Mid – Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Jesse Lingard.
FW – Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Greenwood, Ollie Watkins.
Prediction – England lose in the final
Unexpected Star – Mason Greenwood
He’s only played a handful of minutes for the Three Lions’ but after a strong end to the season with Manchester United, scoring 8 goals in 13 matches, Mason Greenwood will have an impressive Euro 2020.
When the squad size was increased from 23 players to 26, his name was one of the first that came to mind.
I think the 19-year-old will more likely be an option from the bench during the opening matches but his clinical finishing and versatility, being able to play through the middle and out wide, could be very useful for Gareth Southgate.
Alex Brinton
GK – Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, Nick Pope
Def – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Reece James, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Conor Coady, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell
Mid – Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, `Jordan Henderson, James Ward-Prowse
FW – Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Greenwood, Ollie Watkins
Prediction – England lose in the semi-final
Unexpected star – Jude Bellingham
Borussia Dortmund’s young star can’t enjoy the winning beers just yet, but if England get into the latter stages of the tournament he will turn 18, and will be able to savour them just as much as his teammates.
Bellingham started his career at Birmingham City, but since he made his move to Germany, he has gone from strength to strength.
He ran the show for Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, playing with a maturity far beyond his years.
He is going to have an impact on this tournament and if he keeps progressing he will be the first name on the England team sheet very soon.
Daniel Smith
GK – Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, Nick Pope
Def – Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Tyrone Mings, Conor Coady, Kyle Walker, Kieron Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Mid – Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, James Ward-Prowse, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden
FW – Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, Jesse Lingard, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Harry Kane
Prediction – England lose in the semi-final
Unexpected star – Jude Bellingham
With Jordan Henderson in doubt for the Euros due to injury, Bellingham could get the call up. We know Southgate has faith in the youngster and he is a serious talent.
He has played a full season of top-flight football, went straight back into the team after suspension to help Borussia Dortmund win the German Cup and has 10 champions league appearances under his belt.
Regardless of experience, he has talent and the mentality to succeed in big games. Both Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney were called up at 17 based on their talent so if Jude can get some game-time, he could easily be a star of the tournament.
So there you have it, feel free to send any hate mail to the relevant writers. We may differ on our opinions of how far England will get and who should play, but we all want them to do well.
By Platform Sport