England manager Lee Carsley has said his uncapped selections for September’s international fixtures with the Republic of Ireland and Finland are ‘really exciting players’.
Carsley has named his first England squad since replacing Gareth Southgate on an interim basis and there is a fresh feel to the Three Lions’ set-up.
The 50-year-old has selected four uncapped players that he is familiar with from the u-21 side, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento and Angel Gomes all earning first inclusions.
Carsley believes the quartet ‘fully deserve’ their chance in the senior side and set he is excited by the prospect of introducing them into the England team.
“I think looking at the squad we picked today, I’ve worked with the majority of them – including from when I was with the under-21s,” Carsley said at a press conference to announce the squad.
“The [four] players that have been called up for their first caps are really exciting players. They were great phone calls to make – I was very proud to congratulate them and they fully deserve the chances they’re going to get.”
Carsley says Gibbs-White is ‘used to winning’
Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White links up with the seniors for the first time, having formed part of the u-17 team that won the World Cup in 2017 and the u-21 side that won the European Championship last year. Carsley is confident the 24-year-old has what it take to perform.
“Morgan is a very attacking player, full of energy and very exciting. He has an excellent work rate and is very difficult to play against. He’s been successful with England Under-21s. A lot of these players that we brought in are used to winning and going to the latter stages of tournaments.
Morgan Gibbs-White has received his first call-up to the @England senior squad 🏴
We are delighted for you, @Morgangibbs27 ❤️
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 29, 2024
“Angel is probably different to a lot of what we would have seen in the past, in terms of a centre-midfielder being a lot more physical and robust. He’s a lot more of a technical player – he controls the game with his technique.
“I’m really fortune to have the pool of players to pick from. We have some really exciting attacking players, and if we can get them in positions where they can demonstrate their ability.
“In the summer we had to be very creative with the way we played because we had a lack of players in certain positions.”
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope(Newcastle United).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal).
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
