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The qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 2020 are upon us this week, and one side that a lot of eyes will be on are Gareth Southgate’s England. The Three Lions are coming off success in both the World Cup and in the group stage of the Nations League, and will look to go into Euro 2020 as one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Despite going deeper in the World Cup than they’d done since 1990, Southgate’s side haven’t been resting on their laurels since. England had a young team in Russia, but since the tournament some of the older veterans – Jamie Vardy, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young – have dropped out, making way for some fresh faces.
The Nations League matches saw the debuts of Jadon Sancho and Nathaniel Chalobah, but Southgate has continued to look towards younger talent for the upcoming fixtures with the Czech Republic and Montenegro, picking a handful of newcomers once again.
Here are 3 England newcomers who could impress in the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers.
#1 Declan Rice
Perhaps the most controversial of Southgate’s newcomers for these games, West Ham’s midfielder Declan Rice clearly has the talent that warrants an England call-up.
The controversy comes because he’s already got three caps for the Republic of Ireland – albeit in friendly games, hence why FIFA have allowed him to switch allegiance.
To be fair, England were stung in the opposite way when Wilfried Zaha did the same thing and switched allegiance to the Ivory Coast, and in today’s multicultural world with so much immigration and emigration, the Rice situation probably won’t be the last of its kind to be faced by England. But that’s a tangent of course!
At any rate, Rice has proven himself as a high-level defensive midfielder with the Hammers this season, and while England have used Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier in the position in their most recent games, there’s an argument to be made that Rice has the potential to be superior to both players.
Rice notably has higher defensive stats than both Henderson and Dier, scoring well in areas like tackles per game, interceptions per game and blocks per game – and with England being an attack-minded side, it’s important that the holding man doesn’t allow his defence to be exposed.
Interestingly though, Rice also takes more shots per game than either of his rivals, and while he doesn’t complete as many key passes as Dier, he does dribble more successfully than either man. That suggests that as well as being a holding man, Rice could also start some attacks for England.
The word is that Southgate will start Rice in Friday’s match with the Czechs, which would make sense given Dier is only just returning from a spell of illness while Henderson is carrying a slight ankle injury. If he can impress in the role despite his young age (20) and lack of international experience, it could be hard to dislodge him in the future.
#2 Callum Hudson-Odoi
Chelsea’s flashy winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is only 18 years old, and while there were some suggestions that he could be fast-tracked with England, it didn’t look likely this time around – in fact, he was chosen as part of Aidy Boothroyd’s U21 squad for the first time instead. But when Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek withdrew due to injuries, Hudson-Odoi was promoted into the senior squad instead.
And naturally, this could be the U17 World Cup winner’s time to shine. Hudson-Odoi has been used sparingly at Chelsea this season – he has yet to start in a Premier League fixture – but when Maurizio Sarri has deployed him, he has shined, scoring 4 goals and making 2 assists in 8 appearances in the Europa League. He’s even picked up two Man of the Match awards on WhoScored.com for his exploits in the competition.
January’s transfer window saw Bayern Munich looking at a move for the youngster, but while that didn’t pan out due to Chelsea being unwilling to sell, it shows how highly he’s rated. Part of what makes Hudson-Odoi such an interesting prospect is that recently at least, England hasn’t been known for producing skilled dribblers of the ball – and yet Hudson-Odoi looks as good as any that have emerged in the Premier League in the last few seasons.
It’s unlikely that Hudson-Odoi will start against the Czech Republic or Montenegro, but there could be a silver lining for him in the fact that Marcus Rashford is reportedly carrying an injury. Rashford has been starting for England alongside Raheem Sterling as one of two wide forwards, and if he’s ruled out I’d expect Jadon Sancho to take his place.
With Sancho starting, the likelihood of Hudson-Odoi making a substitute appearance – running at tired Czech or Montenegrin defenders – becomes much higher, as does the potential for him to really make an impact. If he can pull it off, he could become a fixture in England’s squad even before he really establishes himself as a starter at Chelsea.
#3 Callum Wilson
Callum Wilson isn’t technically a newcomer to the England squad – he was picked for the November games against the USA and Croatia and started in the former, scoring the third goal in a 3-0 victory.
But the Bournemouth striker didn’t play a part in the Nations League fixture against Croatia, meaning the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czechs and Montenegro are his first chance for competitive football with the Three Lions.
Barring a disaster for Southgate – an injury to the team’s captain and talisman, Harry Kane – it’s unlikely that Wilson will start against the Czech Republic, but to see him make an appearance from the bench, or even start against Montenegro wouldn’t be a surprise.
England’s side are full of goals – the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have scored plenty this season, but outside of Kane, they’re missing another pure striker, and Wilson certainly fits the bill.
Wilson’s record is excellent for Bournemouth – he’s scored 11 goals in 23 Premier League appearances thus far, averaging a goal every other game, and he’s also got 6 assists. More importantly, he proved against the USA that international football doesn’t overawe him and despite missing some early chances, he kept plugging away until he scored his first goal for the Three Lions.
With Jamie Vardy now retired from international football, these two fixtures could be Wilson’s chance to prove he’s the man to play backup to Kane for the foreseeable future – and against a pair of less than stellar defences, there’s every possibility that he grabs this chance with both hands – and finds the back of the net on the international stage again.
