The schedule does not relent as England prepare for three World Cup qualifiers in September, with two Liverpool players named in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
While Premier League clubs “reluctantly but unanimously” agreed to block call ups for players heading to red-list countries, the Three Lions’ schedule is to go ahead as planned.
And Southgate has named his squad for the triple-header of matches that will see England face Hungary (Sept 2), Andorra (Sept 5) and Poland (Sept 8) in World Cup qualifiers.
Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are Liverpool’s representatives, with the right-back returning to the fold after injury cruelly denied his place in the Euro 2020 squad.
Alexander-Arnold had been named in the 26-man squad only for a quad injury to follow less than 24 hours later, while Henderson used the time to return to match fitness and played 151 minutes as England finished as runners-up.
Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are among those to have been overlooked.
Like every other international period, the hope will be that Alexander-Arnold and Henderson return without injury and are able to pick up from where they left off when Premier League actions returns with the trip to Leeds.
England’s schedule involves two trips to Hungary and Poland, where no away fans will be present due to spikes of COVID-19 across Europe.
England Squad for September Internationals
Goalkeepers: Pickford, Pope, Johnstone
Defenders: Alexander-Arnold, Coady, James, Maguire, Mings, Shaw, Stones, Trippier, Walker
Midfielders: Bellingham, Henderson, Lingard, Mount, Phillips, Rice
Forwards: Bamford, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Kane, Saka, Sancho, Sterling
Fan Comments