Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin left out of England squad v Germany
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been left out of England’s 23-man squad set to take on Germany tonight, according to The Athletic.
The 24-year-old was named on the bench for all three of their group fixtures, coming on for Raheem Sterling as a late substitute against Croatia before being unused against Scotland and the Czech Republic.
However, he is set to be denied the chance to feature in England’s crunch round of 16 Euro 2020 clash against the Germans on Tuesday evening.
Major oversight
What is Gareth Southgate thinking about here? He’s taken just two recognised strikers to the tournament, in a 26-man squad, yet can’t even fit space for them in the 23-man matchday squad? It’s utterly baffling.
There’s even been strong suggestions among fans and in the media that Calvert-Lewin should start the game against Germany, let alone not be named in the matchday squad.
Captain Harry Kane has struggled all tournament so far, and doesn’t look fit.
Yet Southgate has been reticent to even try Calvert-Lewin as an alternative, with the former Sheffield United frontman rooted to the bench in two of the group games, and used sparingly in the first one.
Calvert-Lewin offers a lot to teams, with his direct approach and enviable aerial qualities.
But he’s not just a target man, he also has the pace and athleticism to worry defences in behind, something Kane does not have, particularly at this stage of his career.
Even if Calvert-Lewin was to be pigeon-holed as a target man, he would surely be a handy option to bring on if we needed a goal late on, and Germany camped deep in their own third of the pitch.
We will have to wait and see whether this is a major oversight and tactical error by Southgate.
In other Everton news, 29y/o launches stinging attack on Carlo Ancelotti ahead of Blues exit.
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