England name final Euro 2020 squad

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been named in England’s 26-man squad for this summer’s European Championship.

Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold, 22, is one of four right-backs, while injured duo Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson are both included.

Boss Gareth Southgate had to cut seven players from his provisional list.

Mason Greenwood withdrew through injury with Jesse Lingard, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Ben Godfrey, James Ward-Prowse and Ollie Watkins all left out.

The final squad means there will be no debutants for the tournament, which starts next week.

Southgate said: “I think every squad [selection] is difficult because we have a lot of talented players in this country.

“The most difficult thing [this time] is not being able to take players who have been with us in previous matches and are such good professionals, so I know what a disappointment it is for them, at the moment, not to be going to a major championship.”

Alexander-Arnold makes the cut as he looks to add to his 12 caps, the last of which came against Belgium in the Nations League last October.

Alexander-Arnold has missed the past seven internationals but will contest a starting place with Chelsea’s Champions League winner Reece James, Kieran Trippier, who won La Liga with Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City’s Premier League champion Kyle Walker.

Liverpool skipper Henderson has been out of action since February with a groin injury while United captain Maguire missed the last four league games of the season and the Europa League final following ankle ligament damage.

Southgate added: “The most complex part has been those injuries and whether we should take the chance on people – players like Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire not being quite where they normally are.

“With the experience that they have, we think we can get them to a point where they have an involvement in the tournament and it’s worth taking them – especially as we have an extended squad of 26.”

The Three Lions begin their Euros campaign against Croatia on 13 June, followed by a huge match against rivals Scotland on 18 June, rounding off Group D against the Czech Republic on 22 June.

All of England’s group games, and knockout matches if they advance, will take place at Wembley Stadium.

England’s 26-man squad in full

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

-BBC

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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