Carsley puts focus on youth in first England squad of tenure

England’s new interim manager Lee Carsley put a focus on youth in the first squad of the post-Southgate era, with Lille midfielder Angel Gomes, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Chelsea winger Noni Madueke all being given their first senior call-ups.

Manchester City youngster Rico Lewis and Chelsea’s Levi Colwill also made the cut, adding further young blood to a new-look England squad; the first since the side’s heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the final of the European Championships just over a month ago.

The 26-man squad, which also sees the return of Jack Grealish after the winger missed out on selection at this summer’s Euros, will travel to Dublin to face Ireland on Saturday September 7. They will then return to Wembley for a game against Finland on September 10.

James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, and Kyle Walker were the biggest names available not to be selected, with Jude Bellingham and Luke Shaw absent through injury.

Carsley, head coach of England Under-21s, was placed in temporary charge after Gareth Southgate resigned following Euro 2024.

Crystal Palace’s promising young midfielder Adam Wharton also missed out despite having featured in the Euros squad, bucking the focus that Carsley appears to have placed on bloodying young players.

Harry Maguire is straight back in the squad having missed the Euros through injury. And having been the subject of much transfer speculation over the summer, Ivan Toney was another notable omission.

In goal, Newcastle United’s Nick Pope replaces Aaron Ramsdale as one of the likely back-up keepers. Ramsdale was preferred to Pope in the summer, but neither him nor Dean Henderson, who joins Pope in this squad, played any minutes due to Jordan Pickford’s stranglehold on the number one shirt.

Carsley said of his appointment as interim coach: “It has been a really hectic couple of weeks getting my head around the magnitude of the job, getting around to see as many matches as I can.

“I think it is fair to say the job that Gareth and Steve (Holland) did and the position I am picking the squad up is totally different to when they picked it up.

“I understand I am in a really privileged position and I am excited to meet up with the players.

“I thought it was important we put some fresh faces in and put our mark on the squad.”

Carsley’s squad did not include Kieran Trippier, who, when fit was a stalwart in Gareth Southgate’s sides. The defender announced his retirement from international football earlier today having earned over 50 caps for his country.

Also notable by his absence was Arsenal player Ben White. The defender was a regular absentee under Southgate despite impressing at club level, after a reported falling out between him and the management saw the player fly home early from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Commenting on the inclusion of Gibbs-White and Gomes, Carsley said: “Morgan is a very attacking player, full of energy, very creative, very exciting.”

“He has been really successful with England and I thought that was important. A lot of the players we’ve called in are used to winning.

“Angel is very technical, he controls the game with his kill and his technique. He is very determined, has a great attitude and loves football. I think he is a player people will be excited to see.”

The full England squad

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 (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), 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)