Eddie Nketiah earns his first call-up for England

 

Eddie Nketiah, the Arsenal forward, has received his inaugural senior call-up to the England national team and will be included in the roster for the upcoming Euro qualification games against Ukraine and Scotland in September.

In the current English Premier League season, Nketiah has netted two goals in three Premier League games, and he holds the record for the most goals scored by an England Under-21 player with a tally of 16 goals.

He has had to play second fiddle to Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal. But with the Brazilian striker out injured, Nketiah has shone and deservedly earned his call-up to the Three Lions.

Despite his move to Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia this summer, Jordan Henderson, a midfielder for the club, has been included in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.

While acknowledging that he has reservations about the 33-year-old’s transfer to the Saudi Pro League, Southgate has decided to include him in the squad.

Furthermore, although they have not played any club football this season, both Harry Maguire, the former captain of Manchester United, and Kalvin Phillips, a midfielder for Manchester City, have been selected for the squad.

Southgate explained that the England squad had suffered a loss of seasoned center-half players and that the inclusion of less experienced players was necessary. However, the unavailability of Tyrone Mings, John Stones, and Eric Dier has further complicated the selection process.

A shock exclusion was Raheem Sterling, who has been in great form, scoring two goals in Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Luton and having a strong start to the new season, the Chelsea forward has been left out of the squad.

Sterling was said to have  accepted Southgate’s decision and will concentrate on his performance at Stamford Bridge. Southgate stated that Sterling could still earn a place in the squad in the future, but he expressed his displeasure with the current omission.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Levi Colwill has also earned his first official senior call-up and is part of the squad, along with his Chelsea teammates Ben Chilwell and Conor Gallagher.

Fikayo Tomori, a former Chelsea defender who now plays for AC Milan, has also been included in the squad by Southgate. 

However, several notable players, including Nick Pope, James Ward-Prowse, and Ollie Watkins, are absent from the squad.

England’s September squad:

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea).

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al Ettifaq), James Maddison (Tottenham), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal).

Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal).

Collins Nwokolo 

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