23 May 2023 , 21:30
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Raheem Sterling could be one of the big omissions from England’s squad for the Euro qualifiers.
Gareth Southgate names his squad on Wednesday for the back-to-back games with Malta and North Macedonia on June 16 and 19 respectively. Southgate wants his big guns to report up to make sure they finish the season on a high note with two more wins to stay on course for qualification for 2024.
But Sterling has had a difficult first season at Chelsea which has been disrupted by injuries and also a dip in form. Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland were at Chelsea's defeat at Manchester City on Sunday. Sterling did miss England’s last two qualifiers with Italy and Ukraine through injury but Southgate made it clear he would have picked him had he been fit.
Southgate has not decided yet but has a close relationship with Sterling and was also sympathetic to Liverpool ’s Jordan Henderson last year before their end-of-season Nations League games. England boss Southgate does give a break to players he knows he can rely on and will also make checks on the injury status of a few players who have had gruelling seasons.
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Southgate is unlikely to spring many major surprises in his squad for the double header as he believes the likes of Harry Kane are crucial and wants to maximise his time with the players and for them all to attend team meetings. The Malta game will be seen as one of the easier games in qualifying but North Macedonia could be a tough game at Old Trafford.
England failed to beat North Macedonia in their two previous games on home soil, their opponents also knocked Italy out of the World Cup play-offs and beat Germany two years ago.
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Brighton's Lewis Dunk is in line for an England recall (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Manchester City’s England players - including Kyle Walker, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips - will not join up until later after the Champions League final on June 10. The same goes for West Ham ’s Declan Rice who is set to play in the Europa Conference League final.
England players not involved in Europe or the FA Cup final will be given a mini break at the end of the Premier League season before joining up. Newcastle ’s Callum Wilson and Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins will battle it out for a place with Brentford’s Ivan Toney now banned. Brighton ’s Lewis Dunk is pushing for a recall.
But Levi Colwill, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Gibbs-White are likely to stay with the under-21s ahead of the Championships this summer but will be training at the same time as the seniors at St George’s Park.