England squad: Southgate drops Phillips but keeps Hendo; Everton, Newcastle stars get first call-ups
England manager Gareth Southgate has chosen to leave out West Ham midfielder Kalvin Phillips from his squad to face Brazil and Belgium in international friendlies.
Everton centre-back Branthwaite and Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon have received their first England call-ups, while Liverpool defender Joe Gomez – who won the last of his 11 senior caps in October 2020 – has returned from the international wilderness for March’s Wembley friendlies against Belgium and Brazil.
Gareth Southgate drops one of his favourites…
Ivan Toney is back involved at the first opportunity after serving an eight-month Football Association betting ban, but Raheem Sterling was conspicuous by his absence once again.
Former Leeds United star Phillips is on loan at West Ham from Manchester City with Phillips deciding in January that he needed a move away from the Etihad Stadium to gain more playing time ahead of Euro 2024.
Phillips was in Southgate’s last squad for England’s Euro 2024 qualification matches against Malta and North Macedonia in November, while he has been a regular in the starting XI alongside Declan Rice since playing a key role in the side that reached the European Championship final in 2021.
Southgate has been criticised in the past for sticking with favourites, such as Phillips while being on the bench at Man City, but he has chosen to drop the West Ham man based on his form.
Instead of solidifying his place in Southgate’s side for the Euros by seeking out regular game time, Phillips’ plan has backfired because of his difficult start to life on loan West Ham.
The Man City loanee was sent off against Nottingham Forest earlier on this year, while he was subsituted in their 2-2 home draw against Burnley at half-time last weekend.
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers
Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders
Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Speaking about Phillips’ sending off against Forest in February, former West Ham striker Dean Ashton commented on talkSPORT: “The first booking is stupid because he just pushes Diminges to the floor when he doesn’t need to, and then he goes in at knee-height to try and get the ball, he doesn’t get a lot of it and gets Gibbs-White instead.
“It’s been, let’s be honest, an absolutely shocking start to his West Ham career for Kalvin Phillips. He’s clearly been sat on the bench for far too long and he is nowhere near up to speed!”
Jamie O’Hara: No way Phillips should be going to the Euros
And fellow pundit Jamie O’Hara claimed Phillips shouldn’t be going to the Euros in the summer, the former Tottenham midfielder said: “Kalvin Phillips can’t go to the Euros, he looks unfit, he looks way off the pace.
“He got sent off for two stupid yellow cards, he’s mistiming tackles because he’s not been playing, he’s rusty.
“He’s miles off it, he can’t go to the Euros at the moment. He’s gone there to get back playing, but actually he’s making West Ham worse!”
Ashton agreed, adding: “I just don’t see how you can take him.”
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