England enter the latter stages of their Euro 2024 preparation as they play two heavyweights at Wembley.
Who are England playing?
England reconvene at St George’s Park for the final time before this summer’s European Championships, with two tough opponents in Belgium and Brazil lined up.
England secured their ticket to Germany after finishing top of their qualifying group. The Three Lions will look to challenge themselves ahead of a tough summer and the opponents selected are fit for the test.
England face Brazil first on Saturday 23rd March – the match has a kick-off time of 7pm.
Gareth Southgate’s men will then cut their teeth on a potential Euros opponent – Belgium, with the game kicking-off at 7:45pm on March 26th.
Both matches will be played at Wembley and will be broadcasted live on Channel 4.
Ahead of the matches coming up this week, England manager Gareth Southgate stresses the importance of facing strong opposition.
Southgate said: “I am happy to have two strong matches in March as we build towards the Euros. It is important we take every opportunity to test ourselves against top opposition.”
Who has Southgate picked for the England squad?
Southgate announced the squad on Thursday and there were a few shocks. Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon received their first England call-ups so close to this summer’s tournament.
Joe Gomez is recalled to the squad for the first time since 2020, along with Harry Maguire who keeps his place despite only making one appearance in the last month for Manchester United.
Midfield options are alarmingly short for England, with Kalvin Phillips failing to impress in his new surroundings at West Ham and depth is seemingly lacking as a result.
However, James Maddison’s return to the squad is major boost after an ankle injury that saw him miss two months of action at Spurs.
Although Southgate’s addressing of Ben White‘s England future has stolen the headlines, Fans were upset that Southgate didn’t take a chance on the young talent like Kobiee Mainoo. This was only highlighted further after performances in Manchester United’s 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Here we go then.
Your #ThreeLions for March camp! 🦁
— England (@England) March 14, 2024
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