England's Euro 2024 Squad
Who were the surprise omissions? Which players could face the cut?
By Patric Ridge
Gareth Southgate named his provisional 33-man England squad or Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
These players will vie for a place in the final, 26-man selection that heads to Germany, following friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland.
Here, More Than A Game breaks things down.
THE BIG MISSES
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson are the biggest names to miss out on the training squad that will head to St George’s Park in the coming weeks.
Rashford has struggled for Manchester United this season, and while the Red Devils still have an FA Cup final — against Manchester City — to come, on form, this seems like the correct decision.
However, there is something to be said for the pace and finishing prowess Rashford can bring when on top of his game, and it’s fair to say there isn’t really another player like him in England’s squad.
These are difficult calls — you are talking about players who are very good players who have been an important part of what we have done. With Marcus, I feel players in the same area of the pitch have had better seasons, it's as simple as that.
- Southgate on Rashford
Henderson, meanwhile, has also missed out, and while on form — and just quality overall — that should not be a surprise, it is strange that of all the times over the past year when Southgate could have dropped the former Liverpool captain, he decides to do so now.
Southgate stuck with Henderson despite the ill-fated switch to Saudi Arabia, and the midfielder was still called up to the squad for March’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, after he had returned to Europe to sign for Dutch giants Ajax in January. Why did Southgate bother, if not to take Henderson to the Euros? Surely that time would have been better spent looking at other midfield options?
Southgate suggested an injury was the issue, yet he has selected Luke Shaw. Strange.
He is a fantastic professional and it was a difficult call to make. He'll be a miss. He's an exceptional individual and fantastic human being.
- Southgate on Henderson
Nick Pope also missed out after an injury-hit season with Newcastle United, while Dominic Solanke can consider himself unfortunate. The striker scored 19 goals for Bournemouth in the Premier League this season, and it feels like that’s a tally that should have seen him at least make the preliminary squad.
James Tarkowski and Fikayo Tomori should have also received a look-in — particularly the latter; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fikayo’s team-mate at Milan, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott may have been worth a look at in midfield, too. Chelsea trio Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell and Reece James have all been left out as well, though the latter two in particular simply cannot stay fit.
Kalvin Phillips and Mason Mount have been staples of previous squads, but given their lack of minutes this season — and, in Phillips’ case, a complete drop-off in form — it is no surprise to see them miss out.
SURPRISE INCLUSIONS
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to More Than A Game to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.