The Premier League season wraps up this weekend, and fans in England are already setting their sights on the next big thing: European Championship qualifiers.
Europe's 55 national teams will fight it out for the 24 slots available in the 2024 tournament.
England manager Gareth Southgate named his 25-man roster for his team's first matches against Malta and North Macedonia. It's much a different England team than we're used to seeing.
Here are several of the biggest additions and omissions:
IN — Tyrone Mings, Aston Villa. What a season for Mings. He was stripped of the Villa captaincy and benched by Steven Gerrard in the fall only to be resurrected by new coach Unai Emery in the spring. Villa's defense is one of the strongest in the Premier League in 2023, and Mings is a big reason why. He's a physical, committed defender who excels at playing out from the goal.
OUT — Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur. In a season in which seemingly everything has gone wrong for the Spurs, spare a thought for poor Dier, the most unfortunate player of the lot. After several unsuccessful games in a sweeper position, Dier has been on the outs with Spurs interim manager Ryan Mason. He hasn't started for the club since April and is clearly out of favor with the England team, too.
IN — Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace. Eze is one of three Palace players to make this England squad, a stat that few saw coming a few months ago. Palace's recent domestic renaissance is England's gain, and Eze — a cool-headed midfielder with excellent spatial awareness — could bring a fascinating new dynamic to Southgate's group.
7 - Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze has managed as many goal involvements in nine games in all competitions this season under Roy Hodgson (6 goals 1 assist) as he did in 30 appearances prior to his arrival (4 goals 3 assists). Lion. pic.twitter.com/7leJtWQuyO
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 24, 2023
OUT — Mason Mount, Chelsea: Once touted as the great savior of England's central midfield, Mount is one of several stars caught in the muck of Chelsea's disastrous season. While he's been out of form all season, his absence is due to a slightly more pressing concern: abdominal surgery that will sideline him for weeks.
IN — Callum Wilson, Newcastle: The Magpies clinched a Champions League slot last weekend on the back of some fantastic season-long individual performances, but no one shined as brightly for Newcastle as Wilson. He scored 18 goals in 30 matches, and his place in the club's starting 11 is secure.
Callum Wilson has scored 11 league goals since April. No player in Europe’s Top 5 leagues has scored more pic.twitter.com/XD7lb6uP2r
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 18, 2023
OUT — Raheem Sterling, Chelsea: One must feel for Sterling, who left Pep Guardiola's Man City juggernaut to find himself only to get trapped in Chelsea's hall of mirrors. Sterling's had a rough opening season in London, but you can't really blame him — with four different coaches, umpteen tactical systems and dozens of new teammates to cope with, anyone would struggle.
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