England boss Gareth Southgate has named a 33-man provisional England squad for EURO 2020, and there were some huge surprises from the Three Lions boss.
[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ]
Southgate has trusted in England’s young stars over experience.
With plenty of England players involved in the Europa League and Champions League finals in the next few days, Southgate was forced to change his plans as he will name a final 26-man squad for the European Championships on June 1.
England play friendlies against Romania and Austria next week, as players involved in the European finals are unlikely to feature heavily.
The big omissions are Danny Ings, Patrick Bamford and Eric Dier.
Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone have been called up in goal, with Nick Pope out due to injury. At the back Ben Godfrey and Ben White are handed their first call ups, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is in.
There are places for Jesse Lingard, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson in midfield.
Up top Ollie Watkins, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Mason Greenwood have all been included, as Southgate put his faith in youth.
England have their three group games on home soil in Group D, as they face Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium.
The Three Lions are the joint-favorites to win the competition along with France, while Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Germany are among the leading contenders.
EURO 2020 odds (full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
What do we make of Southgate’s big decisions?
England will be sweating on the fitness of Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips, as all three would be close to the starting lineup but are struggling with knocks.
In the case of Maguire and Henderson, they are captains of Manchester United and Liverpool and there experience will be huge in this squad.
But in terms of the right back situation, Southgate was going to cause headlines no matter who he picked. Kyle Walker starts for champions of England Manchester City, Kieran Trippier for the La Liga champions Manchester City and he then had to decide between Reece James and Alexander-Arnold.
For now, they’re all in the squad, but one is likely to miss out when seven players are hooked out for the final squad.
Below is the provisional England squad in full.
England squad EURO 2020
England name provisional squad for EURO 2020 originally appeared on NBCSports.com