Sterling snubbed again, but Man United flops are here: Southgate reveals England list

The club form should be the main indicator if a certain player will be in consideration for the international call. But when it comes to England manager Gareth Southgate, it seems that ‘earlier works’ are all that matters. The Three Lions manager announced his initial team for the November games against Malta and North Macedonia in the qualifications for the EURO 2024. England has already qualified for the tournament, and the opposite teams are in all truth weak, so maybe this was a great opportunity for Southgate to call some other players, who have deserved it with their recent games, but he decided to play it safe and call all the usual ‘suspects’.

So, no Raheem Sterling (again), or Nick Pope, but rather reserve player Aaron Ramsdale, Saudi bound Jordan Henderson, and off course, the totally out of from Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford - Harry Maguire. As always, Kalvin Phillips is there too, even thou he is not playing at all. And Southgate always have interesting excuses, like with Phillips.

“He is up against world-class players at his club. Between him, Pep and the coaching staff they will discuss the route forward. We know the quality of him. He was in the Euros team of the tournament and was our player of the year a couple of years ago. He has continued to do well for us. We would like him in a better rhythm but there aren't many players in his position that can play at that level. We'd like him to be in a better rhythm, but that's not the case at the moment. At the same time, not many players can play in his position” said Southgate.

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Harry Maguire is always a subject of any international call, and this time Marcus Rashford was invited, even thou he scored one goal all season and was sent off against Copenhagen. But, Southgate is happy with what they are doing at the moment.

“We are really happy with Rashford, he scores goals and he enjoys his football with us. For me there's nothing to discuss. You want your players to be enjoying their club football and I'm really pleased for Maguire” said England boss.

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As for Sterling, he used another explanation. All other forward players (Rashford included) are playing great and he cannot decide which one to drop.

“The door is 100 percent open for Sterling. There is no doubt about that. In terms of his quality and personality. He is crucial part of the journey we have had. The team are playing well, they were exceptional against Italy. So who do we leave out? It is as simple as that. We have stuck with that group, and deliberately not made changes. It is fair to the guys in the squad” he explained.

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Levi Colwill, Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire, Fikauo Tomori, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Jasck Grealish, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins, Callum Wilson