Gareth Southgate will resist pressure from Premier League clubs and pick his strongest squad for his side’s June qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
England are on course to reach Euro 2024 after beating Italy and Ukraine and it is widely anticipated that they will have 12 points from 12 once they have travelled to Malta on June 16 and hosted North Macedonia three days later.
Many top-flight clubs return to training in the first week of July, meaning another disrupted summer for players, and it was put to Southgate that these fixtures are a chance to give some of his stars a rare rest.