Jude Bellingham leaves Gareth Southgate with big issue as team meeting called
Ezri Konsa press conference after England call up
Jude Bellingham led another raft of players to pull out of England duty, leaving Gareth Southgate to finish off the game with just the remnants of his first team. But the Three Lions boss called a team meeting to tell those who will be on duty this week that they must win to avoid a Euro 2024 seeding calamity.
The Real Madrid starlet was assessed alongside Chelsea’s Levi Colwill for shoulder injuries and deemed not fit enough to feature against Malta and Macedonia.
James Maddison, Lewis Dunk and Callum Wilson had already been withdrawn and Kalvin Phillips and Marcus Rashford will be in a race to be match ready having delayed their appearance at St George’s Park due to “personal reasons”.
With John Stones also missing, it means Southgate will have just a shadow of his starting side available as the campaign reaches its climax. England are already guaranteed a spot in next summer’s finals, but only seven of the 10 group winners will be in Pot 1 for the draw next month.
The final seedings are decided according to a league table of top nations, with England currently fourth but just one defeat away from potentially dropping into the bottom three.
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“We had a meeting this morning before training, saying that although we’ve qualified we want to win these two games,” Conor Gallagher confirmed. “They’re really important to get in a higher bracket of teams.
“We know how the important the games are. Gareth explained to us this morning we could end up in a group with Germany or France and it makes sense.
“Obviously we go into every game wanting to do well and win, no matter if it’s a friendly or whatever else. So we’ll be looking forward to it.”
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Southgate might have been concerned by Bellingham’s absence as England prepare for next summer’s tournament in Germany. The 20-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable start to life in the Spanish capital, scoring 13 goals in 14 games.
But a shoulder injury saw him miss Saturday’s clash with Valencia and he will now be absent for England’s remaining Euro 2024 qualifiers. “He will go to be evaluated but I expect him back [in Spain] again quickly,” Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday. “If he didn’t play today, he can’t play with England.
“He has to do specific work to strengthen his shoulder and he will do that in the coming weeks. After the international break I think he will be able to play again.”
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