London, May 29
Injured doubts Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson were both passed fit to play at Euro 2012 after being included in England’s final 23-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday.
Manchester United striker Welbeck and Liverpool defender Johnson missed last Saturday’s 1-0 friendly victory over Norway in Oslo because of lingering fitness issues.
However the duo were both named to travel to Poland and Ukraine in a squad showing only two changes from the original 23 unveiled by manager Roy Hodgson earlier this month.
Everton defender Phil Jagielka comes in for the injured Gareth Barry, ruled out on Monday, while Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland replaces John Ruddy, who broke a finger in training last week. England also confirmed squad numbers for the tournament on Tuesday, and in a possible indicator of Hodgson’s preferences in attack, handed Liverpool striker Andy Carroll the No.9 shirt.
Carroll is expected to start for England in their opening matches against France and Sweden in the absence of the suspended Wayne Rooney.
Meanwhile, France coach Laurent Blanc named his final 23-man squad for Euro 2012 on Tuesday, with Lyon’s Yoann Gourcuff and Montpellier’s Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa the two men axed from the provisional list.
Midfielder Gourcuff endured a miserable season with his club, marred by injuries and lack of form, but had been given hope of going to the finals in Poland and Ukraine when Blanc -- who previously coached him at Bordeaux -- included him in an initial 25-man squad.
However, he failed to impress in Sunday’s 3-2 friendly win against Iceland and will now watch the tournament from home.
Meanwhile, the absence of Yanga-Mbiwa from the final list is no major surprise.
He captained Montpellier’s Ligue 1 title-winning team but has yet to be capped by Les Bleus and Blanc feels he has enough cover in the centre of defence.
Sochaux’s Marvin Martin, Blaise Matuidi of Paris Saint-Germain and Gael Clichy of Manchester City all made the cut, with the latter winning his place due to the absence of Eric Abidal.
The Barcelona stalwart is recovering from a liver transplant in March.
