Euro 2020: Trent Alexander-Arnold named in England's 26-man squad
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Euro 2020 on the BBC |
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Dates: Friday 11 June-Sunday 11 July. Host cities: London, Rome, Munich, Baku, St-Petersburg, Budapest, Seville, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Copenhagen. Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC Radio 5 Live, iPlayer and BBC Sport website. Click here for more details |
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."
Who do England play this month?
The tournament was delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic and will begin on 11 June, with the final taking place at Wembley Stadium on 11 July.
Southgate will get the chance to assess his picks in two friendlies, against Austria on Wednesday and Romania on Sunday. Both matches take place at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium.
Southgate said Lingard, Ward-Prowse and Watkins were given the option to go home after missing out on the final squad but chose to remain for this week's friendlies.
He added that White, Godfrey and Ramsdale knew beforehand they were part of the provisional squad in order to gain experience.
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 will take place at Wembley Stadium. They'll also have the chance to play a last-16 tie at home if they win their group, with both semi-finals and the final also being held at Wembley.
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)
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