England interim manager Lee Carsley named four uncapped players in his first squad. Here, we look at why they’ve been included.
Whether a new era truly begins with an interim coach is up for debate, but what’s certain is Saturday’s UEFA Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland will be England’s first since Gareth Southgate stepped down as manager.
Southgate had been in the job since 2016 but decided to leave his post after losing to Spain 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final this summer. While many feel he ultimately underachieved with the Three Lions given he didn’t win a trophy, others believe he elevated England to a level not seen in generations as they reached two Euros finals and the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
The search for a new permanent manager goes on, meaning Lee Carsley – who has stepped up from the England under-21s – will preside over at least their next two games in an interim capacity. But anyone who thinks he isn’t in the running for the full-time appointment need only look back at how Southgate’s tenure began with a temporary spell after doing a good job with the under-21s. He’d stay for nearly eight years.
Carsley certainly hasn’t been shy about putting his own stamp on the team either. Of the 26 players named in the final Euro 2024 squad, nine were missing from the interim manager’s initial announcement before the inevitable injury withdrawals.
Of course, not all of those absent this time have necessarily been ignored for selection, as Jude Bellingham for instance is injured. Nevertheless, there was a distinctly different, fresh even, look to Carsley’s squad, particularly with respect to the four uncapped players.
So, who are they and why are they involved?
Tino Livramento
News of Tino Livramento’s first inclusion in a senior England squad coincided with right-back Kieran Trippier – the teammate he’s also dislodged as first choice at Newcastle – announcing his retirement from international football.
Trippier’s contributions shouldn’t be taken for granted as he proved a reliable option for England over the years, but Livramento is much younger and will offer greater dynamism through his agility and pace, both in and out of possession.
Livramento, now 21, first came to the attention of the masses in 2021-22 during his breakout season with Southampton, whom he’d joined from Chelsea. His lung-busting runs and forward forays – on either flank – became a feature that helped him stand out, eventually earning a big-money move to Newcastle last year.
He’s had to be patient in his attempts to take over from Trippier, as he didn’t make his first Premier League start for the club until late November last year, and even then he only made 12 before the season’s end.
But since his maiden league start for Newcastle on 25 November, Livramento ranks 10th among Premier League full-backs (min. 900 minutes played) for progressive carries (moving with the ball at least five metres upfield) per 90 minutes, with 7.4. He also averages 4.1 progressive carries of more than 10m on a per-90 basis, putting him sixth among the same group of players.
This reflects both his athleticism and purposeful mentality as a full-back who needs little encouragement to get forward, but he’s also shown positive signs with his competitiveness off the ball. For instance, over the same period as mentioned above, his 61% success rate in ground duels is bettered by only three defenders who’ve played most of their football at full-back in that time.
Furthermore, his 1.5 interceptions every 90 minutes puts him as high as 10th among all defenders, not just full-backs. While players in teams who come under a lot of pressure tend to rank higher for this metric, it still reflects well on his reading of the game, especially considering he’s comfortably clear of any other Newcastle defender.
He’s not at the point yet where he’s rivalling Trippier’s creative output, with his 0.8 open-play chances created per 90 seeing Livramento rank behind 23 full-backs since his first start for Newcastle, whereas Trippier (1.4) is fifth.
But this can be partly explained by Livramento operating as a left-back for nearly half of his Premier League minutes at Newcastle, with his right-footedness not especially conducive to creating opportunities. Nevertheless, the building blocks are there in that he’s positive, technically strong and a real athlete; greater chance creation certainly isn’t beyond him.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Of the four uncapped call-ups, Morgan Gibbs-White was probably the least surprising inclusion. Although his move from Wolves to Nottingham Forest raised eyebrows in 2022 due to it reportedly being worth up to £42.5 million, the attacking midfielder has frequently impressed in the Premier League.
A brave, feisty and inventive attacking midfielder, Gibbs-White was a regular through various age-group levels for England, helping them to FIFA U-17 World Cup glory in 2017 and UEFA European Under-21 Championship success as recently as last year, playing for Carsley.
While his previous working relationship with Carsley will have likely aided his cause in getting a call-up, Gibbs-White has also done well in a modest Forest side. For them, his influence is significant, partly because he’s so reliable in terms of availability, missing just four league games since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Over the period going back to the start of the last campaign, his 183 involvements in shot-ending sequences is 55 more than any other Forest player. The fairly even splits between shots, chances created and build-up assistance – as noted in the graphic below – highlights how he’s contributing in several ways, and not just important to a single function.
Having said that, his 1.6 open-play chances created per 90 since the start of last season puts him 11th among nominal attacking midfielders (min. 900 minutes played) in the Premier League, which is very respectable considering he played in a team that battled relegation virtually all season.
Further to that, he’s averaged 4.3 shot-creating actions (shots + chances created) per 90 over the past year and a bit, with only three midfielders who represented teams in the bottom half of the final 2023-24 table managing to better that.
Gibbs-White offers plenty of energy off the ball as well, however. No midfielder has registered more pressures (defined as approaching a player in possession with the aim of winning back the ball or limiting their passing options) than his 803 going back to the start of 2023-24, while his 195 possession regains over the same period is high for a midfielder who primarily focuses on attacking.
This off-the-ball work rate has benefited Carsley before. England’s interim manager is regarded as being quite tactically flexible and known for putting players into roles they don’t necessarily play at club level. Gibbs-White has occasionally played in a front two with the under-21s, with his energy and pace making him both useful in an aggressive press and in transition.
Carsley knows Gibbs-White has a broad skillset that makes him adaptable, and that can only be a good thing.
Angel Gomes
The most interesting – startling, even – inclusion of the new faces is Angel Gomes, as much as anything because the majority of England fans may never have even seen him kick a ball.
His name may well be familiar, though. Once regarded among the most promising youngsters to come through Manchester United’s academy since the ‘Class of 92’, Gomes is still the youngest player to represent the club in the Premier League and fourth-youngest of all-time in all competitions; he was 16 years and 263 days old when José Mourinho gave him his debut off the bench on the final day of the 2016-17 season.
Despite his obvious talent, Gomes struggled to gain meaningful minutes at United and opted against signing a new deal in 2020, leading to his release and move to Lille, which has been the making of him since an initial loan to Boavista.
A tricky, diminutive and creative No 10 in his youth days, Gomes’ move to France saw him deployed as more of a deep-lying playmaker after the arrival of Paulo Fonseca, who frequently lauded the young midfielder’s in-game intelligence. Gomes became the one setting the tempo, using his technical skill to evade pressure and facilitate attacks rather than necessarily being expected to pick holes in defences.
While last season he was pushed up a little higher more often, his role in the team didn’t change dramatically in that he continued to be a key facilitator in Lille’s build-up. Only four central midfielders across Ligue 1 since the start of last term have had more involvements in shot-ending sequences than Gomes (138), while his 28 chances created in open play puts him behind just two players from the same group.
There have also been 12 instances of him being involved in the build-up phase of a shot-ending sequence and playing the final pass to create the shot – no other central midfielder has recorded more over the same period, highlighting both his usefulness early on in moves and as a creator.
Knitting the play together with brave, positive passing has become Gomes’ bread and butter, though. He’s been involved in 69 sequences leading to a shot (excluding those in which he’s taken the shot) since 2023-24 began; just six midfielders are ahead of him in that metric, and three of them represented a rather dominant Paris Saint-Germain.
“Angel is someone who does it week-in, week-out for a team out in France,” Carsley said of Gomes when speaking to reporters last week. “I’m not sure why he’s not been included [in the senior England squad] previously. I wouldn’t know. I know the senior staff have watched him and how impressed they were with him from the summer he had with us [when winning the Under-21 Euros in 2023].
“He’s a player that we’re probably not used to seeing [for England], and yet when we watched a Portugal team or a Spain team: ‘Ah, I really like that No 10. I really like him.’ We’ve got players like that within our pathway that need a chance.”
That chance has now arrived for Gomes.
Noni Madueke
Much like the other three in this list, Noni Madueke is another who knows Carsley from the under-21s setup, and similarly to Gibbs-White and Gomes, he was also in the squad that enjoyed Under-21 European Championship glory last year.
Of course, Madueke has had a fairly lively start to the new Premier League season, too. So, while he, like the others, has probably been boosted by his relationship with the interim manager, it’s also fair to suggest his form in the early weeks of 2024-25 might’ve had him in contention anyway.
It’s easy to forget Madueke has been at Chelsea for over 18 months already. In a bloated, continuously changing squad operating with a revolving door of head coaches, the 22-year-old hasn’t always found it easy, managing just 13 Premier League starts last term.
But, following a positive pre-season, he marked his first league start of 2024-25 with a brilliant hat-trick against Wolves, linking up with Cole Palmer – who has withdrawn from this England squad due to injury – for all three goals. That came after scoring off the bench against Servette in a UEFA Conference League qualifier as well, having been an unused substitute for the defeat to Manchester City a few days earlier.
Madueke was then a threat in the weekend draw with Crystal Palace, going close twice, with one shot drawing an excellent save from Dean Henderson.
A direct and skilful right-winger who likes to cut inside onto his left foot but is equally capable of going down the line, Madueke is showing the early signs of establishing some consistency. It wasn’t so long ago that new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was suggesting he wanted more from the 22-year-old in training, but the player’s reaction has been positive and he’s getting himself into promising positions.
Who’s to say if he would have been given the call-up had everyone been available to Carsley, but Madueke and the other newcomers have an opportunity to repay the faith of the manager who might well end up as Southgate’s permanent successor.
Kobbie Mainoo proved last season that it only takes a couple of appearances to make a statement; can this group do the same?
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