England manager Gareth Southgate has named a 25-man squad for the Three Lions’ upcoming FIFA international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The double-header sees the teams ranked fourth and fifth in the FIFA Rankings visit Wembley Stadium connected by EE in the space of four days.
Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, failed to earn a spot in Southgate’s squad as a result of his sorry form at Arsenal currently.
Last year, Nketiah received his debut Three Lions call-up for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine and a friendly against Scotland.
The 24-year-old was part of a 26-man squad announced by Gareth Southgate but failed to feature in both of the aforementioned matches.
He was completely left out of the England squad that drew 1-1 with Ukraine in the Euro 2024 qualifiers last Saturday and was also an unused substitute in the Three Lions’ 3-1 victory over Scotland .
Playing zero minutes for England means the young forward is still eligible to switch nationality to play for Ghana.
Nketiah, who was born in London but traces his roots to Ghana due to their parents, has been on the radar of the Ghana FA for years.
Meanwhile, Nketiah had earlier stated that it was “really hard” to pick Ghana over England after he received his debut Three Lions call-up.
Speaking at a press conference, he said he has always aspired to play for England and that making it to the senior national team was just a natural progression.
“I had an aspiration to play here and like I said once the call-up was there and the offer was on the table, it was really hard to turn down and I feel that it is the natural progression for me at this stage,” the forward said.
“And I felt now was the good time to make that step and obviously, I’m really happy to be here and hopefully, I can go one and help this team this week and get some caps.”
Nketiah is the all-time top scorer for England’s U21s.
Below is the full squad
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
