Kalvin Phillips dropped by England as Ivan Toney and Branthwaite get call-ups
Gareth Southgate has dropped Kalvin Phillips from the England squad and revealed that Ben White has asked not to be considered for selection.
The news about Phillips and White was eye-catching on a day when Southgate recalled Ivan Toney and Joe Gomez and gave first call-ups to Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon for Wembley friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
Toney returns for the first time since his eight-month ban for breaching Football Association betting rules ended in January. The 27-year-old, who made his England debut last year, has scored four goals for Brentford and has been included in place of the injured Callum Wilson.
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“He’s shown straight away getting back into Brentford’s team the quality and impact he can have,” said Southgate, who admitted he may have space for only one of Toney or Ollie Watkins, another in the squad, for the Euros.
Southgate said he would have included White, who has excelled for Arsenal. White went home early from the World Cup and Southgate said he had been unable to persuade him to return to an international squad.
“I have to leave the door open for him because I think he’s a good player and a player who could make a difference for England,” said the manager, who described White’s unavailability as “a great shame”. Southgate said Edu, the Arsenal sporting director, had communicated that White did not want to be considered and that he did not know exactly why White had made the decision. On Thursday White signed a new four-year Arsenal contract, with the option for a further 12 months.
Southgate had been a factor in Phillips choosing to remain in the Premier League in January with a loan move to West Ham from Manchester City. But the midfielder has endured a torrid time at the London club, starting only three games, in which he has made a costly error against Bournemouth, received a red card at Nottingham Forest and been substituted at half-time against Burnley. He has come on as a substitute in four other matches.
Southgate said: “A good version of him is an important player for us and that’s why we have supported him as we have … Unfortunately his form just hasn’t been good enough. I’ve spoken to him about that. He understands. He has all the attributes to force his way back in and we’re really keen for him to do that.”
Phillips, who started just six games for City in all competitions after his £42m transfer from Leeds in July 2022, said in an interview last month that he “definitely” would have lost his England place for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer if he had stayed at City and continued to warm the bench.
He revealed he had spoken to Southgate about his options, which included going to Juventus. “He said to be playing in the Premier League versus playing anywhere else … it’s just that little bit of a step down in quality,” Phillips said. “So yeah, he influenced me to stay in England.”
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Southgate has long counted on Phillips – he brought him on as a late substitute for his 31st cap in England’s last game, the 1-1 qualifying draw against North Macedonia in Skopje in November. But Thursday’s decision points to a direction of travel for the Euros. The next time Southgate names a squad, it will be for the friendlies in June against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland that precede the finals.
Branthwaite, who has impressed for Everton, comes in at centre-back in the absence of the injured Marc Guéhi and with Fikayo Tomori not selected. Gomez is another option in that position and can also play at full-back. Gordon’s substitution in Newcastle’s game at Chelsea on Monday raised concerns that he would be ruled out but Southgate has named him at a time when Jack Grealish is injured. Cole Palmer retains his place.
Southgate has not been able to include Trent Alexander-Arnold because of injury; he has come to consider the Liverpool player as more of a midfielder than a right-back. He has favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation this season; the main deeper midfield options in his current squad are Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Conor Gallagher.
James Maddison has been included with Ben Chilwell but there is no place for Rico Lewis.