Yahoo News Gareth Southgate set to name England squad as Aston Villa players face Euros worry
Gareth Southgate is expected to announce his provisional England squad ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany this summer - and there remains now an anxious wait to see if Aston Villa pair Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa have done enough to have made the cut. Southgate is likely, report Sky Sports, to announce a group made up of 30 or more on Tuesday before he shaves that number down to the limited 26 by 7 June.
Southgate will have plenty of decisions to make; a host of England talents have shone in the Premier League and abroad this past season, with Watkins joining the likes of Cole Palmer, Dominic Solanke, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon in enjoying excellent individual seasons for their respective clubs in an effort to force their way into Southgate's thinking.
For Konsa, meanwhile, he proved his worth on the international stage when he was summoned to come onto the field against Brazil in March in the international break just 20 minutes in after Kyle Walker suffered an injury. Konsa was excellent in nullifying Vinicius Jr while filling in at right-back and he played 90 more minutes in the friendly draw with Belgium days later.
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In the back-line, Konsa is potentially up against Lewis Dunk in a centre half capacity, while Southgate has a number of right-back options including Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier, while Reece James has recently returned from injury.
UEFA permit all teams to select a squad of 26 with which to travel to Germany this summer, but Southgate's provisional group is likely to exceed that by a number. The tournament kicks off with the hosts taking on Scotland on 14 June. England tackle Slovenia, Serbia and Denmark in their group stage.
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