With Euro 2016 exactly one month away, countries are beginning to ramp up their preparations for the tournament by naming their provisional squads.
The UK press were sent into meltdown when it appeared the FA had published the squad prematurely, but moved swiftly to ensure that it was a hoax.
Looks like somebody at The @FA is in trouble, accidentally publishing the England squad.
Wilshere IN, Welbeck OUT. pic.twitter.com/eRmvjNdPUl
— Jonny Gabriel (@JonnyGabriel) May 9, 2016
@JonnyGabriel pic.twitter.com/rhMFuaXQ1Q
— England (@england) May 9, 2016
Roy Hodgson will officially announce the squad on Thursday, and it’s been reported that he will take a gamble on injury-prone Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, despite only making his return from a broken-leg on the weekend against Manchester City.
However, it looks as though Danny Welbeck will miss the Euros after what is believed to be a serious knee injury in the same game, the opposite knee to the one he injured last season. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Butland have also been ruled out.
In other news, Chris Coleman has named a 29-man squad for Wales’ pre-Euro 2016 training camp in the Algarve, with Gareth Bale given special dispensation to delay his arrival due to Champions League Final commitments.
Bale is expected to meet up with the squad ahead of the final warm-up friendly against Sweden in Stockholm on 5 June.
Wales’ provisional squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Liverpool), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness).
Defenders: Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Neil Taylor (Swansea City), Chris Gunter (Reading), Ashley Williams (Swansea), James Chester (West Brom), Ashley Richards (Fulham), Paul Dummett (Newcastle), Adam Henley (Blackburn), Adam Matthews (Sunderland), James Collins (West Ham).
Midfielders: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace), David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest), Joe Allen (Liverpool), David Cotterill (Birmingham City), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), George Williams (Fulham), Andy King (Leicester), Emyr Huws (Wigan), Dave Edwards (Wolves).
Forwards: Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Burnley), Tom Bradshaw (Walsall), Tom Lawrence (Leicester), Simon Church (Nottingham Forest), Wes Burns (Walsall).
Wales’ Group B fixtures
11/06: Wales v Slovakia (Bordeaux)
16/06: England v Wales (Lens)
20/06: Russia v Wales (Toulouse)
Meanwhile, European minnows Iceland have also announced their provisional squad with veteran Eidur Gudjohnsen, 37, named by co-coach Lars Lagerbäck, who also confirmed that he will be stepping down after the finals in France.
The former Chelsea and Barcelona forward is a surprise selection in the squad at age 37, after retiring from international football in November 2013, but was recalled in March 2015 and played three qualifiers en route to France, scoring once as Iceland booked a major final tournament debut.
Three of the squad are carrying injuries: Gylfi Sigurdsson (shoulder), Aron Gunnarsson (ankle) and Kolbeinn Sigthórsson (knee). They are expected to recover before the first game, but there are six players on standby if they fail to make it or if other problems develop.
Iceland squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Hannes Halldórsson (Bodø/Glimt), Ögmundur Kristinsson (Hammarby), Ingvar Jónsson (Sandefjord).
Defenders: Ari Skúlason (OB), Hordur Magnússon (Cesena), Hjörtur Hermannsson (PSV Eindhoven), Ragnar Sigurdsson (Krasnodar), Kári Árnason (Malmö), Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Lokeren), Birkir Sævarsson (Hammarby), Haukur Heidar Hauksson (AIK).
Gylfi Sigurdsson: 6 goals in 10 qualifiers
Midfielders: Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff), Theódór Elmar Bjarnason (AGF), Arnór Ingvi Traustason (Norrköping), Birkir Bjarnason (Basel), Johann Gudmundsson (Charlton), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Molde), Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson (Sundsvall).
Forwards: Kolbeinn Sigthórsson (Nantes), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Jón Dadi Bödvarsson (Kaiserslautern).
Standby: Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson (goalkeeper, Breidablik), Hallgrímur Jónasson (defender, OB), Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson (midfielder, Rosenborg), Rúrik Gíslason (midfielder, Nürnberg), Ólafur Ingi Skúlason (midfielder, Gençlerbirliği), Vidar Örn Kjartansson (forward, Jiangsu Suning).
Iceland’s Group F fixtures
14/06: Portugal v Iceland (Saint-Etienne)
18/06: Iceland v Hungary (Marseille)
22/06: Iceland v Austria (Saint-Denis)
Marco Verrarti (Italy), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany) and Vincent Kompany (Belgium) have also been ruled-out for their respective nations through injury.
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