Chelsea stars, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham have been
called up by England for the Euro 2020 qualifiers in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria
taking place this month.
The announcement was made by England coach Gareth Southgate
this afternoon ( Oct. 3).
Before now, there have been questions if the pair who are
also eligible to play for Nigeria will commit themselves and play for the Super
Eagles. But Southgate’s selection of both Tomori and Abraham will now dash the
hopes of Nigeria to convince the pair to switch their international allegiance.
Tomori has played international youth football for Canada,
where he was born, and England, but he also qualifies for Nigeria through his
Nigerian parents. Abraham has played two senior games for England, but still
qualifies for Nigeria through his father.
If any of them take part in the Czech Republic or Bulgaria
games on October 11 and 14, then their international futures will be settled
because both matches are competitive fixtures.
Speaking following the announcement, Southgate admitted the
decision to call up Abraham was an easy one to make.
Southgate said: 'It was a fairly easy decision as he's the
leading English goalscorer in the league.
'We put him into the squad very young, when we were changing
the complexion of what we were doing. That was a bit early for him but because
of the opportunity given to him by Frank Lampard at Chelsea, we've brought him
back in.
'This is now a great chance for Tammy. He's always scored
goals for our junior teams, he's done that in the Championships and now he's
grasped his opportunity at the beginning of this season.'
Southgate said of Tomori: “His profile as a defender fits
with the way international football is. Athleticism is important; he is capable
with the ball. We think it’s a good opportunity to have a closer look at him.”
“I don’t think it’s ethically right to select someone just
to make sure he can’t play for somebody else,” England’s manager said. “Fik and
Tammy are in on merit. They’ve both been part of our youth system. Fik came in
a bit later but he was part of the team that won the [Under-17] World Cup – as
far as we’re concerned, they’re English players.”
