Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke back in England squad seven years after sole cap
Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke has been called up to the England squad for games against Greece and Finland, but Eberichi Eze, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and James Maddison have been overlooked.
Solanke has not played for his country since featuring against Brazil in 2017, but has been named in interim boss Lee Carsley’s 25-man squad for the Nations League games in the upcoming international break.
The 27-year-old has scored in his last three games for Spurs following his big-money summer move from Bournemouth.
Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Kyle Walker and Ollie Watkins are back in the squad after missing last month’s games against Republic of Ireland and Greece.
But Crystal Palace’s Eze has been left out after a disappointing start to the season.
Maguire, Rashford and Maddison were all hoping for recalls but have not been chosen after mixed starts to their respective club seasons.
Carsley hinted he would freshen his squad up, but there are no uncapped players this time, with highly-rated Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers not picked.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Noni Madueke and Angel Gomes keep their places in the squad after their first-time call-ups last month.
Speaking at the squad announcement at St George’s Park, Carsley said: “Dom’s (Solanke) a player I’m fully aware of and worked with in the past – he was close to being in the last squad.
“He’s taken that form from Bournemouth into Spurs, he has a lot of attributes I like as well as being a nice person. He’s extremely talented and good we’ve got him.
“Like all of the players it’s a challenge with the squad we’ve got. We have so many talented players.
“We always look at finding the balance, who complements who in terms of how we play and don’t get caught up in positions, it’s more the attributes and how we can potentially attack the opposition.
“There’s a lot of players that were close to being in the squad, the talent we have available to us.
“It would be quite easy to name a 40-man squad and justify having them all in, but the challenge is making sure we pick a competitive squad and one where we can win the two games.
“It’s just a case of using the next two camps to experiment a little bit and look at other players. The players who have been left out have all got a case to be in the squad but we saw the benefit of the other squad being fresh and feeling fresh and that it’s not a copy and paste.
“I’ve made it completely clear to the players that this is a short-term decision from myself. We have this camp and next to just keep playing good football for their clubs.”
Carsley was announced as interim boss in August following the departure of Gareth Southgate after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The 50-year-old oversaw victories in his first two games in charge against Republic of Ireland and Finland but insists his situation as temporary boss has not changed.
He added: “I think its clear what my remit is.
“It’s to take these three camps in the Nations League; I’m happy with that. My situation hasn’t changed and I’m looking forward to the camp.
“I know my situation and I’m comfortable with it.
“It’s been positive, people seem to be really complimentary about the team and understand it’s early days.
“The difference would be everyone has an opinion on the England team, which is interesting. People are desperate for the team to win and do well and the ultimate goal is to win a major trophy.”
England take on Greece at Wembley next Thursday before heading to Helsinki to face Finland on Sunday.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie