Three players that were unlucky to miss out on Gareth Southgate’s England squad

Gareth Southgate has named his 26-man squad for England’s upcoming qualifiers, as they prepare for the European Championships this summer, but which players were unlucky to miss out?

Before any major international tournament, preparation is key, and England have been given the opportunity to do so for the final time before this summer’s European Championship as they gear up to play San Marino, Albania and Poland over the next two weeks.

When the squad is announced at this stage, it usually gives a strong indication as to what the final product will look come June, due to the importance to establish the core of the team beforehand. However, a familiar sense of outrage amongst England fans has broken out since the announcement, as debates over playing styles and personnel differ across the country.

In fairness to Southgate, his hands were somewhat tied this time around, due to injuries plaguing some of the regulars under his tenure with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Joe Gomez all on the sidelines.

Leicester trio James Maddison, James Justin and Harvey Barnes potentially would have been in line for a call up as well, if it wasn’t for the same problem, but one aspect it does highlight is that for the first time in years England  have a wealth of depth their disposal.

Considering the unfortunate circumstances, it would have been pleasing to see some uncapped or players outside the traditional big six to make the cut, as although it isn’t the time to be experimenting some who have missed out probably didn’t deserve to if it was based solely on performances.

So here’s three players that can consider themselves unlucky to not be involved: 

Ezri Konsa

Over the past few seasons, Konsa has established himself as a mainstay at the heart of Villa’s defence, building a solid partnership with fellow compatriot Tyrone Mings. The pair’s style complement each other well, with Mings acting as the aggressor, while Konsa utilises his physical attributes such as his pace to sweep up any danger in behind. Statistically, they are the strongest all-English centre-half duo in the Premier League, and are a major factor as to why Villa have been able to keep 14 clean sheets this season.

One aspect of the 23-year-old’s game that’s improved drastically in recent times, is his ability to win the ball back, despite attempting fewer tackles than most defenders. Konsa ranks second in the Premier League for tackle win rate, at 81%, a feat bettered only by Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea. Similarly to some of the best players in his position, he doesn’t always engage in defensive actions which is shown by his low volume high success rate style and instead choses to pick his moments, while remaining concentrated to ensure he’s effective when called upon.

He is also the epitome of a modern day ball playing centre-back, as he’s honed the vital asset of having a high ball retention percentage, even when playing progressive forward passes out from the back. With Southgate likely to play with three centre-backs, having a defender that can kick start attacks from deep, by breaking the lines with accurate passes into the creative talents could prove crucial in beating the oppositions press and lead to chances for our attacking players.

Often young centre-backs can be rash and look out of place on the international scene, as they tend to get better with experience, however the fact Konsa excels in so many of these key area’s already proves his understanding of the role he’s asked to play and stands him in good stead to one day slot into Southgate’s defensive unit.

Patrick Bamford

With space for only three central strikers in the squad, Southgate opted for Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ollie Watkins. The first two were shoo-ins, however that final spot was always going to be a tough decision between Patrick Bamford and the Villa man, as both have impressed throughout the course of the season. They share a similar profile and offer something slightly different to the other players we have this position, due to their willingness to press from the front and be direct when counter attacking. Watkins ended up getting the nod, but was that the right choice?

Bamford averages 16.4 pressures on opponents per 90 minutes, which is far superior to even Kane and Calvert-Lewin, therefore it would have given Southgate a different dimension when approaching certain situations. Although Watkins is also accomplished in this aspect of his game, the Leeds striker comes out on top in this attribute, and would have been the perfect player to set the tempo out of possession for England in games that require a more belligerent pressing style.

Another strength in Bamford’s repertoire is his direct approach in front of goal, as seen with his time spearheading the Leeds attack, a team renowned for their counter attacking prowess under Marcelo Bielsa. Unsurprisingly, the two teams with the highest average of direct attacks per game is Villa and Leeds, with the Englishman playing a key role in why that’s the case. Despite Villa having a high volume of attacks in this manner, Bamford’s notched fourteen league goals, compared to Watkins’ ten proves that he is even more deadly in these type of situations.

Having the opportunity to switch styles midway through fixtures is vital, especially when you reach the latter stages, therefore it’s given Southgate a huge tactical advantage to be able to play one of the two when England sit deep to soak up pressure and look to counter attack with pace.

Emile Smith Rowe

Some may argue that Smith Rowe isn’t quite ready to represent his country at senior level, as he’s at the tender age of 20, and currently enduring his breakthrough season at Arsenal. However, considering the immense impact he’s had for Mikel Arteta’s side since retuning for injury in December, almost simglehadnily carrying the burden of creativity in order to turn their season around shows that he’s not far off.

Couple this with the fact that Southgate’s squad are lacking a player who can operate behind the striker, baring Phil Foden, it perhaps would have been beneficial to see him be given his first taste of international duty.

In 23 appearances this campaign, the youngster hasn’t been short of contribution, whether Arteta has deployed him in an attacking midfield role or out on the left-wing. Smith Rowe currently has two goals and six assists, while topping the charts for creative output for the Gunners, making him central to the clubs newly adapted system. Away from goals and assists, he possess so much more to his game than what meets the eye, with his relentless work rate in and out of possession often going under the radar.

His desire to play using one or two touches is also very noticeable, as he’s constantly scanning the pitch to watch  how phases of play develop, so when he receives the ball he knows exactly where his first pass is going. This could be a useful asset to have, which provides a different dimension on the international stage, as games can sometimes be slow paced – therefore having players that look to do this could help when breaking teams down that play with a deep block.

Undoubtedly, Grealish and Maddison would have been included in the squad before Smith Rowe, but considering they are unavailable it could be looked back on as an opportunity missed to have given him some valuable experience training with the first-team and potentially getting his first cap.

England have just under 10-weeks until the European Championships commence, but with Southgate’s system and best eleven still yet to be decided, what players do you think were unlucky to miss out?

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