Gareth Southgate has officially unveiled his 26-man World Cup squad as the Three Lions prepare to travel to Qatar.
Announced on Thursday 10 November, just 10 days before the start of the tournament itself, the England manager has finally confirmed his selection for the 2022 Qatar World Cup after having whittled down his 55-man provisional squad rumoured at the start of the month.
While Southgate has mostly stuck with his core tried and trusted group, many of which played in both the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 last year, some names might come as a surprise to England fans.
Right-back Reece James was sadly ruled out of the competition after it was confirmed he would not recover from his October knee injury in time for the knockout stages. However, Southgate ultimately opted not to gamble and risk the defender’s season even further.
The England boss was presented with less choice than usual at fullbacks this time around, with the likes of James and Ben Chilwell both definitely out through injury, not to mention Kyle Walker racing to be fit in time as one of the most relied-upon players in recent years.
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Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips also faced a similar scramble to get into the squad in time, having not long recovered from shoulder surgery earlier in the season but managing to return to the pitch in time for their FA Cup win over Chelsea on Wednesday.
But, fortunately, both players ended up being included in the 26-man squad.
Other notable additions include in-form Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, Leicester City’s top scorer of the 2022/23 season so far in James Maddison and Arsenal defender Ben White — all of which enjoying their first senior tournament call-up.
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Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has also managed to make the cut despite only having made it onto the fringes of the squad in 2022, having only made four appearances for England so far.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has also been named in the squad, but his teammate Jadon Sancho has failed not made it after struggling to make an impact in recent weeks.
Manchester set to host five UEFA EURO 2028 matches – including England’s opening game
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed to be the host of five matches at the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament in 2028.
This also, crucially, would include England‘s opening match, should they qualify directly.
The joint announcement by Manchester City and Manchester City Council today comes as UEFA has now released key details about the UK & Ireland 2028 competition – which, as it stands, is less than 1,000 days away.
It has been confirmed that the Etihad Stadium – which is known as The City of Manchester Stadium when not relating to Manchester City football club – will host four Group Stage matches across four different groups, offering both local and international football fans the chance to see a range of different national teams in action.
On top of this, Manchester will also be the host a Round of 16 knockout match as the tournament progresses.
UEFA EURO 2028 will kick off at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff on Friday 9 June 2028, culminating in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 9 July 2028.
Across the UK and Ireland, nine stadiums will host matches during the upcoming tournament – with other northern stadiums including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, and St James’ Park over in Newcastle.
More than three million tickets – as sold by UEFA – are set to be available for the tournament, and more information on this will be issued in due course.
Following an independent assessment, UEFA EURO 2028 is expected to generate up to £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland between 2028 and 2031, with benefits including job creation, regional growth, and direct spending from international visitors.
The countdown has started in Manchester for #EURO2028!
Five matches are scheduled to be played here – including England's opener if they qualify – and more than 300,000 fans will be welcomed to the city in June 2028.
“We’re a city where football runs deep in our DNA, and we’re counting down the days to UEFA Euro 2028.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Sport
Man City to open latest Greater Manchester club shop at Trafford Centre
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club are set to open another brand-new store at the Trafford Centre, and just in time for Christmas.
With the festive period approaching, plenty of people will be looking to buy the latest shirts and merch of their beloved team, and with the Blues now a bigger brand than ever, they’ve put plenty of time into levelling up the club shop experience.
Their third in Greater Manchester, all told, it’s also set to be one of their largest to date.
Credit: The Manc Group
Although confirmation of the plans came back in October, City have officially announced themselves in the Trafford Centre this month.
With the hoardings going up over on Peel Avenue – the section of the huge mall arguably most well-known for its multi-storey John Lewis department store – they’ll be opening their doors just next to the branch of Waterstones.
In fact, you definitely can’t miss it because not only is there a giant MCFC badge plastered over the windows, but it also happens to be right next to the big Christmas tree.
This comes after sports and streetwear franchises like Gymshark and Urban Outfitters joined the North West tourist attraction, not to mention the massive Zara and Bershka sites that opened recently, as well as other global names like Pop Mart.
An idea of what the new Man City store in the Trafford Centre could look like, based on the Arndale shop. (Credit: The Manc)
Put simply, there’s been plenty of new arrivals this year, and there are several others to come.
Although we’ve not got an exact opening date just yet, the posters displayed across the window simply read “Coming November”, so Cityzens won’t have to wait long.
Furthermore, job vacancies for retail roles working within the upcoming location are already listed on the official Trafford Centre careers page.
Last but not least, there are scheduled be a number of other new openings in the shopping arcade, leisure and entertainment destination, so keep your eyes peeled on socials for more info soon.
Danny Jones -
10th November 2022 
