Interim England Manager: We Have Many Talented Players; Solanke’s Inclusion is Well-deserved

On the evening of October 3rd, interim England manager Lee Carsley announced the latest squad list for the national team. Tottenham Hotspur forward Dominic Solanke returned to the national team after seven years. The returning from injury Manchester City defender Kyle Walker was also selected along with his teammates John Stones, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Rico Lewis, while Harry Maguire and James Maddison were not included.

Carsley explained the selection criteria at a press conference following the announcement, emphasizing that he is satisfied with both the team and his personal situation. Carsley said, “My responsibility is very clear, which is to lead these three UEFA Nations League training sessions and matches, something I am very happy to do and fully content with. My situation has not changed, and I am really looking forward to this training session. Selecting the squad for England and deciding which players need to be excluded is a big challenge. I am not worried about who the official coach will be or other matters because the current job is already sufficiently challenging.”

The journalists’ questions focused on several players who have returned to the national team, to which Carsley responded, “Dom [Solanke] is a player I know very well because I worked with him in the past. He was very close to being selected last time but got injured before the list was announced. His performance at Bournemouth was excellent, and now he has brought his form to Tottenham. He possesses many excellent qualities that I like very much, and he is a great person. He is immensely talented, and it’s great to have him. Kyle [Walker]? Before the last squad announcement, we communicated, and he was still recovering from an injury and had not played a single minute for Manchester City yet. He is one of the players we expect to return. Although I’ve never worked with him, I recognize all that he has done for England in the past, and I believe he can also help our young players.”

Regarding some players who were not selected, such as Morgan Rogers and Harry Maguire, Carsley explained, “Many players are close to selection, and we have a lot of talented players available. It would be easy to list forty players and explain why they should all be included. The biggest challenge is ensuring that we select a competitive squad capable of winning against Greece and Finland.”

Attached: Squad List for This Period of England Team

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Zidane Iqbal (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)