England U21s name 27-man long squad for Euro Finals

Wednesday 20 May 2015
Under-21s head coach Southgate has named an initial 27-man squad for the Euros
England Under-21s head coach Gareth Southgate has named a long list of 27 players for this summer’s European Championship Finals.

The Three Lions head to Czech Republic for the competition next month, for which Southgate is allowed to name a 23-man squad.

UEFA Euro U21 Championship

The Finals
17-30 June 2015
Group A: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Serbia
Group B: England, Italy, Portugal, Sweden

But with domestic fixtures still remaining for most of the players involved this month, Southgate has selected an initial longer squad which will be reduced before the group meet up to begin their preparations on Monday 2 June.

The majority of those who played a part in securing qualification for the Finals are included, with the competition's top scorer Saido Berahino and fellow striker Harry Kane named in the list.

There is a first call-up for young Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a regular in the England U19s squad this season and recently made his Premier League debut for the Stamford Bridge club.

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Benik Afobe is also named in the squad, after an impressive campaign at Molineux in which he scored 32 goals in total, including his strikes from an earlier loan spell with MK Dons. 

An England regular throughout the development teams over the years, the former Arsenal player has not featured for his country since February 2013 when he played in a 4-0 win for the U21s over Sweden in Walsall.

England Under-21s line-up to face Czech Republic in Prague.

The U21s line-up to face Czech Republic in March

Prior to that, he had scored on his U21s debut in a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland at Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road in November 2012.

Southgate’s final 23-man squad will join up at St. George’s Park to begin their preparations on 2 June before returning for a second week on Monday 8 June.

They will then take on Belarus at Barnsley FC’s Oakwell in a final game before they fly out to their Euro base in Olomouc on Sunday 14 June.

England’s first group game is against Portugal in Uherske Hradiste on Thursday 18 June, before they face Sweden in Olomouc three days later.

The final group fixture against Italy takes place on Wednesday 24 June, again in Olomouc.

Tickets for the game with Belarus at Oakwell are on sale now, priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. Call 0871 2266777 or by e-mail boxoffice@barnsleyfc.co.uk

Goalkeepers

Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham)
Jonathan Bond (Watford)
Jack Butland (Stoke City)

Defenders
Calum Chambers (Arsenal)
Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
Luke Garbutt (Everton)
Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough)
Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal, loan to West Ham United)
Michael Keane (Burnley)
Liam Moore (Leicester City)
John Stones (Everton)
Matt Targett (Southampton)

England U21s head coach chats about his provisional list for the Euro Finals

 

Midfielders
Tom Carroll (Tottenham Hotspur, loan to Swansea City)
Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea)
Will Hughes (Derby County)
Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)
Alex Pritchard (Tottenham Hotspur)
Nathan Redmond (Norwich City)
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards
Benik Afobe (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Patrick Bamford (Chelsea, loan to Middlesbrough)
Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Danny Ings (Burnley)
Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)

By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels