England Squad: Unraveling the Perfect Line-Up to Outshine Australia and Italy

Gareth Southgate is set to announce his squad for the upcoming matches against Australia and Italy on Thursday. Who do you think should be chosen for these games?

On October 13, the England national team, known as the Three Lions, will take on Australia in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium. This will be followed by a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, which will be held four days later.

Southgate included Harry Maguire in his latest lineup for the matches against Ukraine and Scotland in the previous month, even though the center-back had not been a starter for Manchester United in the current season. The manager defended his decision after the defender unfortunately scored an own goal against the Scots.

The England manager also stood by Jordan Henderson after the 33-year-old moved from Liverpool to Al Ettifaq, a team in the Saudi Pro League. Additionally, he gave debut senior call-ups to Eddie Nketiah, a striker from Arsenal, and Levi Colwill, a defender from Chelsea.

After being disregarded in September, several players with limited international exposure have made compelling cases for inclusion. Notably, individuals such as Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins, and James Ward-Prowse have emerged as viable contenders.

Raheem Sterling, a beloved player for England, was left out last month, and Southgate disclosed that the Chelsea forward was not "particularly pleased" about it. Additionally, Nick Pope, the goalkeeper for Newcastle, lost his position, as Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace was chosen alongside regulars Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale.

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Levi Colwill has been deployed as a left-back for Chelsea this season, whilst in the Blues' 2-0 victory over Fulham on Monday, Conor Gallagher assumed the role of captain. Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw are currently out of action due to injuries, and there are concerns over the fitness of Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka - the latter was seen hobbling off the field during Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Lens on Tuesday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is available for selection once again, having been initially included as a midfielder in the previous squad but had to withdraw due to an injury. Additionally, John Stones, a consistent presence in England's defense and a centre-back for Manchester City, has resumed training.

Now it's your turn to construct your own England squad! Utilize our interactive selector and share your chosen squad on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @SkyFootball.

Euro 2024 qualifying state of play

What do the stats say?

The We Power Rankings system, which assigns points to players based on 35 matchday stats, indicates that Southgate's usual line-ups would be significantly altered. Surprisingly, nearly half of the XI consists of players who have rarely been utilized by Southgate throughout his tenure.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who recently made high-profile transfers to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, have secured their positions as the top choices on the teamsheet.

In the full-back positions, we have Kieran Trippier representing Newcastle and Kyle Walker from Manchester City. Ben White from Arsenal and James Tarkowski from Everton have taken their places as the center-backs.

Following his £40m transfer from Leicester this summer, James Maddison makes his debut for Tottenham with an impressive start. Joining him in the midfield trio are Bellingham and Ward-Prowse from West Ham.

England's attacking options down the flanks are seemingly endless, with Bowen emerging as the top choice on the right channel and Saka dominating on the left. Leading the front line, Kane is supported by Watkins as a reliable backup option.