Alexander-Arnold to be England squad's highest profile omission for Euro 2020

Graeme Bailey
31 May 2021

Gareth Southgate Trent Alexander Arnold England Sep19

Southgate set to leave out Liverpool right-back as Ward-Prowse gets the nod in midfield.

Gareth Southgate will confirm the 'unlucky 7' players who will miss out on England's final 26-man selection on Tuesday, having already narrowed down his European Championship options to 33.

The England head coach opted to name a larger initial party before narrowing it down to his final selection.

Bookmakers think there will still be some big names missing out from the final 26, and indications suggest Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold will be the most significant casualty.

Alexander-Arnold is set to lose out with Kieran Trippier and Rhys James being selected along with Kyle Walker. And sources have told us that Southgate looks unlikely to add a fourth right-back - despite the versatility of all four.

Mason Greenwood is another regular unlikely to make it and his undoing could very well be the form of Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard. He has been outstanding during his loan spell with West Ham. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prefers Lingard but seemingly Southgate sees it the other way.

The other attackers who look unlikely to make the cut are Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Olie Watkins of Aston Villa. Their omission are due to an extra midfielder being selected in the shape of Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, who Southgate is a huge fan of.

Central defence is another contentious selection with Wolves' Connor Coady on course to beat uncapped duo Ben White and Ben Godfrey to a place at the finals, after all three fended off Tottenham's Eric Dier - who failed to make the initial cut.

The final selection will see one of the four goalkeepers sent home. That looks almost certain to be Sheffield United's Aaron Ramsdale, with West Brom's Sam Johnstone taking the third goalkeeping berth.

We spoke exclusively to BoyleSports spokesman Lawrence Lyons who said they have seen money for Alexander-Arnold and Greenwood, but as it stands they think they will miss out.

He told us: "It's all on a bit of a knife edge and nobody seems quite sure what way Gareth Southgate will go.

"We were braced for a Trent Alexander-Arnold snub last Tuesday, but the extension has seen him backed into 2/5 from 7/4 to make the cut and maybe his end-of-season form is going to end up working in his favour.

"Mason Greenwood was closer to a 50-50 chance, but he's also being well backed to get the nod in recent days at 4/11 from 4/6.

"Ben Godfrey and Ben White are drifting now at 6/4 and 2/1 respectively from about Evens last week. Their time may come, but it seems the likes of Conor Coady are just ahead of them.

"In midfield, James Ward-Prowse was Southampton's player of the season. He's played every minute of the past two seasons and provides that set-piece danger that may be enough to give them the edge when they need it most. We'd be very surprised if a reliable sort like him misses out at 1/5."

Graeme Bailey's final 26-man England squad

(Odds according to Boylesports).

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd, 1/100), Sam Johnstone (West Brom, 1/25), Jordan Pickford (Everton, 1/200),

Defenders: John Stones (Man City, 1/100), Luke Shaw (Man Utd, 1/33), Harry Maguire (Man Utd, 1/12), Kyle Walker (Man City, 1/50), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa, 1/25), Reece James (Chelsea, 1/4), Conor Coady (Wolves, 1/6), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea, 1/100), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid, 1/5)

Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea, 1/100), Declan Rice (West Ham, 1/200), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, 1/16), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, 1/10), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds, 1/8), Jesse Lingard (Man Utd, 1/16), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton, 1/8), Phil Foden (Man City, 1/50), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa, 1/20), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund, 1/20)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham, 1/200), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd, 1/100), Raheem Sterling (Man City, 1/100), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton, 1/50).

The unlucky 7

Aaron Ramsdale (Sheff Utd, 3/1), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, 2/5), Mason Greenwood (Man Utd, 4/11), Ben White (Brighton, 2/1), Ben Godfrey (Everton, 6/4), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, 2/5), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa, 5/4).