England Announce Their Final Euro 2016 Squad
CONFIRMED: The #ThreeLions squad for #EURO2016.
23 players, #TogetherForEngland. pic.twitter.com/lpUwMo4HPk
— England (@England) May 31, 2016
England manager Roy Hodgson has announced his final squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 tournament.
Hodgson revealed that his squad is “tilted towards an offensive approach,” which is why he dropped Leicester City midfielder and 2016 Premier League winner Danny Drinkwater in favour of Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford. Newcastle United winger Andros Townsend also missed out from the final tally.
Hodgson justified his selection of Rashford by stating: “It became a question of do I take the extra attacker or midfielder? That’s how Rashford came about. Rashford’s had that fantastic end to the season and it will be very interesting to see in a squad of 23 whether he can bring those qualities at a higher level.”
The manager was also criticised for having selected a weak defence, as the squad consists of just three natural center-backs. Hodgson replied to this criticism by stating:
“We believe defending is very much a team job and we can’t just rely on a back four and a goalkeeper. We need great mobility and great running power to defend in that way. With this squad they’ve got the ability to give us that.
“Often in a tournament the players that get injured or suffer a lack of form are the guys at the cutting edge, the guys who make the difference or score the goals.”
He further added: “Systems win you nothing and football players win you games. If they perform anything like they’re capable of we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
The final 23-man squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
