Dan Burn trains for England with head coach Thomas Tuchel
Dan Burn trains for England with head coach Thomas Tuchel
England boss Thomas Tuchel has cut three players from his squad to face Albania at Wembley tonight, with the 26-man group reduced to just 23 due to UEFA rules.
However, Newcastle United trio Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Dan Burn have all been included in the party as the Three Lions get their World Cup qualifiying bid under way in the capital tonight. UEFA rules dictate that there can be only 23 players in a matchday squad, with Tuchel having called up 26 for his first training camp as England head coach.
The German has therefore had to make the difficult decision to leave three players out of tonight's squad, with Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White the most high profile of the unlucky trio. Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah are the other two who won't be part of tonight's squad, reports the Mirror.
It means United defender Burn is in with a chance of making his England debut tonight, to cap what has been an incredible week for the Magpies star. Burn helped Newcastle end their 70-year domestic trophy drought by beating Liverpool 2-1 in Sunday's Carabao Cup final, celebrating his surprise England call-up by heading home the opening goal at Wembley.
Livramento made his debut against the Republic of Ireland in November and will be hoping to add to that cap against Albania tonight and Latvia on Monday evening. With United team-mate Lewis Hall ruled out through injury, Livramento could fill in at left-back, having impressed against Mo Salah at Wembley, although remains a strong candidate to start in usual right-back slot.
Gordon is looking for his first action since being sent off in United's FA Cup defeat to Brighton, which resulted in a three-game ban. He missed Newcastle's 1-0 win at West Ham and the Carabao Cup final victory, and will also sit out the Premier League game against Brentford after the international break, meaning he won't feature for the Magpies for more than a month.
However, he is likely to play a key part for England in the coming days in what will be valuable match fitness for the winger as he looks to make a big impact on Newcastle's push for a Champions League place.
England kick off their World Cup campaign against Albania tonight at 7.45pm.
England's 23-man squad vs Albania
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (AC Milan, loan from Manchester City)
**Midfielders:**Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
**Forwards:**Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa, loan from Manchester United), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)