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England squad for European U21 Championship named by Gareth Southgate

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - MARCH 27: Head coach of England Gareth Southgate is seen before the international friendly match between U21 Czech Republic and U2
Image: Gareth Southgate: Will lead England in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship

England U21 head coach Gareth Southgate has revealed his final 23-man squad for the forthcoming European Championship.

Tottenham defender Eric Dier is the most notable omission from the original 27-man squad Southgate named last month, with Wolves striker Benik Afobe and Fulham’s Cauley Woodrow also missing out.

Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford, who struggled with an ankle injury towards the end of his season on loan at Middlesbrough, has not been included. 

"It's a shame for Patrick,” Southgate said, “because he's been injured and that's why he misses out.

"We were conscious that towards the end of the season, he [Bamford] wasn't really fit to train with Middlesbrough, so he needs that period to get himself right now."

England will face Portugal, Sweden and Italy in the group stages of the tournament, which takes place in Czech Republic from 17–30 June.

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16:  Saido Berahino of West Brom celebrates scoring his second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between West B
Image: Saido Berahino has been selected by Gareth Southgate

England's strikeforce features three men who have impressed in the Premier League this season - Harry Kane, Saido Berahino and Danny Ings.

Tottenham favourite Kane has already been capped at senior level, scoring after only 79 seconds of his England debut against Lithuania in March, and Southgate believes others in his settled squad will soon be following suit.

"Some of the group who could have played for us have already moved up to the seniors but the bulk of this group has been together for two years," Southgate said.

"I've got a really good feeling about them, they know the principles of how we want to play and we think that continuity is important.

"It's also important this lot go through together now and start to put pressure on the senior team who are in place.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after they defeated Malaysia XI 2-1 during the pre-season friendly match between
Image: Harry Kane: Busy schedule will continue with European U21 Championship

"One of the fascinating parts of the job is to see the individual development over that period.

"At the start maybe a third of the players were getting first-team football consistently, but probably only a handful at the end of the season weren't playing regularly with their first-team.

"A lot of those are the younger lads who are just breaking into the squad and part of their individual development is with the club, part with us.

"It's great if they can get both experiences and play in a tournament against some top teams."

England squad for European U21 Championship

Goalkeepers: Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham), Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City)

Defenders: Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Luke Garbutt (Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal), Michael Keane (Burnley), Liam Moore (Leicester City), John Stones (Everton), Matt Targett (Southampton)

Midfielders: Tom Carroll (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea), Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Hughes (Derby County), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Alex Pritchard (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards: Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion), Danny Ings (Burnley), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

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