England Squad Named for San Marino, Switzerland Euro 2016 Qualifiers
The English Football Association announced the England squad that will take on San Marino and Switzerland in the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers, as the Three Lions hope to extend their perfect record in Group E.
Here's the full selection, courtesy of Sky Sports:
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As expected, Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Everton's John Stones made the cut, explaining their absence from England's under-21 squad for their matches.
The squad doesn't include many surprises, although some fans weren't overly excited about the presence of Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and Swansea's Jonjo Shelvey. Goalkeeper Tom Heaton of Burnley is the only uncapped player.
As reported by the FA's Jamie Reid, manager Roy Hodgson explained his decisions:
"On this occasion we are obviously missing some players from the June matches. However this is compensated by the fact we have players who weren't available over the summer.
Jonjo Shelvey gets another chance as he has been very impressive since the start of the season whilst Ryan Mason has been unlucky with us - he picked up an injury the last time he was in the England squad.
This latest squad shows we are working a good number of players with a claim to be England regulars and secure a place in Euro 2016
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Notable absentees include Saido Berahino of West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers' Charlie Austin. Both miss out because of the sensational form of Vardy, a decision BBC Sport's John Bennett agreed with:
The 28-year-old has started the 2015-16 campaign in sensational form, scoring twice and adding an assist in four matches. Of the forwards selected, he's the only one who has actually scored in the Premier League so far, according to Rob Harris of the Associated Press:
England will travel to San Marino on Sept. 5 before hosting Switzerland three days later and currently lead Group E by six points. The team is on the verge of sealing qualification and could secure the top spot in Group E during the upcoming doubleheader.
