Gareth Southgate has headaches to contend with in the goalkeeper and left-back department as the England manager prepares to select his squad for a pair of high-profile Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies on Thursday.
With just three months to go until their tournament opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, preparations ramp up with March meetings against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.
This is the last camp before Southgate names his provisional Euros squad just after the Premier League season concludes, with the final selection to be submitted to UEFA on June 8.
Southgate will be hoping to avoid injury to key players before then but first he has to deal with issues over availability, game time and form in this meet up.
Joe Gomez and Jack Butland have been tipped for recalls, while Kalvin Phillips will be hoping he has enough credit in the bank to earn a call-up despite a disastrous start to life at West Ham.
The selection of Jordan Henderson, another of Southgate’s favourites, has been another major talking point in the build up to the Euros after he joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq, but has now returned to Europe, signing for Ajax in January.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, seen as a midfielder by Southgate, has been out for a month due to a knee issue, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley knocking on the door, while Tottenham playmaker James Maddison is fit again.
Kobbie Mainoo has been tipped in some quarters for a call-up after bursting onto scene impressively at Manchester United, but the 18-year-old could instead join up with the Under-21s.
United team-mate Marcus Rashford has been less impressive and has hot competition in his area of the field, although Jack Grealish is set to miss out this time due to a groin injury.
Anthony Gordon’s hopes of a maiden senior call-up remain alive with his knee injury sustained during Newcastle’s defeat at Chelsea on Monday not as serious as first feared, while Southgate is sure to be quizzed about the future of Raheem Sterling if the forward is omitted again.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is pushing to be involved after the one-cap player returned to action in January having completed his Football Association ban for breaching betting rules.
Arguably Southgate’s biggest headache comes at left-back.
Man United boss Erik ten Hag does not expect Luke Shaw to be back fit until May and Chelsea have announced Ben Chilwell is “undergoing specialist medical assessment” on a knee complaint.
Kieran Trippier looks set to miss March’s fixtures, while versatile defender Levi Colwill’s toe complaint could rule him out as well.
Rico Lewis made his bow at left-back and was named man of the match in November’s debut display in North Macedonia, but he has only made four Manchester City appearances in 2024.
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Gomez, who won the last of his 11 England caps in 2020, is pushing for a recall having done brilliantly at left-back for Liverpool, while talented Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento has impressed.
Reece James remains out and in-form Ben White has been overlooked since leaving the 2022 World Cup squad.
Marc Guehi has been dealing with a knee injury, but fellow centre-back Harry Maguire should be involved and Eric Dier has made an impressive start to life at Bayern Munich.
Jarrad Branthwaite has also staked a claim with his fine displays at Everton, whose goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is the only definite selection among the shot-stoppers.
Aaron Ramsdale has made just two appearances for Arsenal in 2024 and Sam Johnstone has only recently returned to the Crystal Palace starting line-up.
Nick Pope is out with a dislocated shoulder and Southgate has been keeping a close eye on Butland’s performances at Rangers.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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