Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka have been named in the England squad for the upcoming international break, with Gareth Southgate’s side set to take on Malta and North Macedonia in Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Despite talk that Southgate had also reached out to Ben White over a potential future recall to the England squad, there was no call-up for him on this occasion.
It’s unclear whether that’s a sign that White was opposed to an England return, or simply that Southgate didn’t plan to call White up on this occasion and was instead laying the groundwork for the future.
Emile Smith Rowe is another of Arsenal’s England internationals not involved in the first-team squad on this occasion, but he’s been called up for the u21s.
With Smith Rowe’s minutes so limited this campaign, it’s not a huge surprise to see him missing out on the senior squad.
The England u21s are holding a training camp at St. George’s Park ahead of the u21 Euros this summer.
The tournament kicks off on June 21st, and the final squad will be announced on June 14th. You’d imagine Smith Rowe has a good shot at making it into that squad, assuming there are no issues in training.
England are still in the early stages of their Euro qualifying campaign, having only played two of their eight matches, but they’ve made a strong start following their wins over Ukraine and Italy.
Two further wins over the June break would see them in pole position at the midway point in the group.
As for the u21s, they’ve been drawn in a group alongside the Czech Republic, Israel, and Germany, facing the three teams in that order between June 22nd and June 28th.
If the England u21s can make it to the knockout stages and beyond, the tournament will go on until July 8th. So Smith Rowe’s participation could affect his involvement in Arsenal’s pre-season, which is likely to kick off around that time.
