S Poddar
Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke has been called up by England manager Lee Carsley to the Three Lions’ squad, starting a journey seven years after earning his first and only cap in a friendly against Brazil, when he was a Chelsea player. The reason for his selection is the outstanding performances of the 27-year-old striker at Tottenham this season after his summer transfer from Bournemouth for 55 million pounds.
Meanwhile, Harry Maguire, although declared available for the Porto game, has been left out of the team. The 31-year-old defender sat out the Euro 2024 due to injury but was readmitted by Carsley in September, the current month, into the two Nations League games that he is to feature in; he played as a starter at Dublin against Ireland, but he did not even make it to the field to commence the match against Finland at Wembley.
Talking about the reason for exclusion this time around, Carsley said, “Harry’s a player I’ve worked with before. He was very positive in our conversation. I didn’t want the chat to drag on too long, as he has a game tonight, but we discussed the decision. We have got some great centre-backs that I’d like to get out there to play. Harry still has a lot to offer this squad and the campaign in general.”
In addition to Maguire, the notable absentees from the squad are Tino Livramento and Eberechi Eze but Jarrod Bowen is also not present. The squad welcomes Kyle Walker back in as this season, he had not been named into the September squad. The full-back had played no club football for any team in the 2024-25 season so far, as he had joined for a long break following his engagement after the Euros. Jude Bellingham, midfielder who has been unavailable for the last two matches through injury, will be returning to action this time.
Solanke has recently returned to his scoring touch for Tottenham in every one of his last three matches. He would now look to make an impact in England’s Nations League fixtures, where the team takes on Greece at Wembley next Thursday, before traveling to Helsinki to take on Finland three days later.
England has also had a good career on the youth level with Solanke winning the European Under-17 Championship back in 2014 and the Under-20 World Cup in 2017. His solitary appearance to date for the senior team was however limited to just minutes for coming on as a late substitute in a friendly under former England manager Gareth Southgate. Now with a second chance to make amends, he is keen on making his mark on the senior stage.
Speaking to The Observer recently, Solanke revealed returning to the England squad was one of the top objectives in his sights for the season. “Everyone wants to play for their country, and it’s definitely something I’m aiming to get back into, ” he said.
Though his move to Tottenham was not for the stated reason of maximizing his chances of playing for England, he indeed admits that playing for Tottenham will increase those chances. “Was England part of the idea behind my transfer? Not really. But if you’re playing really well at a club like Tottenham, for sure, you get noticed. My focus is first of all Tottenham, but that surely will lead to more opportunities with England as well.”
When the matches approach, Solanke will come under a lot of scrutiny to find out whether he would be able to translate his form in club football into international football. Carsley needs to strike the right chord with fresh faces around him for added depth and the return of key players when England embark on the new phase of the Nations League. That’s a testimony to the hard work and perseverance of Solanke. And now, he has the chance to accumulate more caps to his name in what could be turning out to be the corner or the phase of his career.
