Euro 2024: The Big Names Left Out
Some big players have been left out of their national squads.
By Patric Ridge
There are always some big names who don’t make the cut for their nations at any major international tournament. Euro 2024 will be no different.
Indeed, with coaches only allowed to pick up to 26 players, it comes with the territory — some players just won’t be heading to Germany and instead will have to watch from back home.
Here, More Than A Game outlines the biggest names who will not feature at the tournament.
What do you think? Make sure to let us know in the comments!
JACK GREALISH
Gareth Southgate has left several big names out of his final England squad, and Jack Grealish is arguably the headline omission.
A £100million signing for Manchester City from Aston Villa three years ago, after he impressed when handed the chance at Euro 2020, Grealish has had a difficult campaign on an individual basis, struggling for form and suffering multiple injuries.
But it feels like a mistake from the England manager not to include an attacker who profiles so differently to the rest of the Three Lions’ wide options, and that lack of creative spark off the bench was evidenced in the 1-0 defeat to Iceland last week. Grealish will be missed.
MATS HUMMELS
Veteran defender Mats Hummels played a key role in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final, rolling back the years throughout BVB’s campaign.
His fine performances are evidenced by the data, too. Over the past year, Hummels ranks in the 99th percentile of defenders in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles and interceptions, while also registering highly for blocks and clearances.
However, these positive numbers were not enough to see him make the cut for Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.
Even though Jonathan Tah and Antonio Rudiger are an excellent pairing, Hummels is something of a peculiar omission.
LEON GORETZKA
Joining Hummels in missing out on the Germany squad is Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka.
It’s not so long ago that Goretzka was widely considered as one of the best box-to-box midfielders around, but he has struggled this season and Nagelsmann has elected to go with others, including Toni Kroos, who was persuaded to come out of international retirement for the tournament (albeit, it will now be the swansong of his career altogether).
Goretzka should be in his prime, but instead he faces an uphill task to get back into Nagelsmann’s thinking.
THIBAUT COURTOIS
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Thibaut Courtois returned from a long injury lay-off in time to help Real Madrid win their 15th European crown.
Courtois sustained an ACL injury on the eve of the campaign, and then as he was about to return to action in March, he ruptured the meniscus in his right knee. However, despite returning to fitness, Courtois is not part of Belgium’s squad.
Both the player himself and coach Domenico Tedesco have claimed this is due to Courtois not having time to get up to full sharpness, though there is speculation that the two do not see eye-to-eye, either. It’s a blow for Belgium, whose defence is not what it once was, even if Koeen Casteels is an excellent stand-in.
HARRY MAGUIRE
A mainstay of Southgate’s tenure, it was a shock to see Harry Maguire left out. The centre-back has not featured since April and only began light training last week, so it is an understandable call from the England boss, though he has elected to take a gamble on Luke Shaw’s fitness — the left-back has not featured for club or country since February.
Maguire was “devastated” not to be able to make the final squad, and even if he is not the best centre-back in the world by any means, England’s defence does look decidedly weak, which makes the next omission on this list all the more baffling.
JARRAD BRANTHWAITE
In a 26-man squad, there could surely have been space for a player who has demonstrated all of the attributes required to be a top-class centre-back.
Southgate said it was “too early” for Jarrad Branthwaite to go to a major tournament, but the 21-year-old, as the only naturally left-sided centre-back, could arguably have been first choice, especially considering he is the only one of England’s definitive centre-back options who has played consistently all season and avoided major injury. A strange one.
MARCUS RASHFORD
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 Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford was excellent at the 2022 World Cup, and he maintained that level or the rest of the campaign when he returned to Manchester United.
But large swathes of this season were different for the forward, and despite flashes of quality, he could not hit those levels consistently and missed the cut for Southgate’s provisional squad.
With England having such a depth of quality in attack, Rashford may not be missed, but at this stage in his career, it will be a huge blow for the 26-year-old.
MARCO VERRATTI
Marco Verratti was integral as Italy triumphed at Euro 2020, yet three years on, the diminutive playmaker has not even made the Azzurri’s squad.
Verratti is only 31, but his move to Qatar last year — which came as something of a surprise given he had still been performing excellently for Paris Saint-Germain — has likely brought on this absence from Luciano Spalletti’s selection.
But it’s a crying shame not to have him in Germany. Italy are a better team with a fully firing Verratti in the engine room, that’s for sure.
CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU
Christopher Nkunku has had some awful luck. Indeed, it was only on the eve of the 2020 World Cup that he sustained a severe injury that ruled him out of that tournament.
Nkunku has also had an injury-hit maiden season at Chelsea, making just two starts in the Premier League and 11 appearances overall, scoring three top-flight goals.
When he is fit and firing, Nkunku is a superb attacker, as he proved over his time at RB Leipzig, but with so many options for France coach Didier Deschamps to call on, the 26-year-old has not been able to prove his worth for this competition.
MARCO ASENSIO
Marco Asensio seemed destined for greatness when he first broke through at Real Madrid, yet at 28 — when he should really be entering his prime — the forward will not feature for Spain at Euro 2024.
Now at Paris Saint-Germain, Asensio has had a stop-start campaign, scoring just four goals in 19 Ligue 1 appearances.
And that (lack of) form has seen him miss out on Euro 2024.
SERGE GNABRY
The third German international on this list, Serge Gnabry had been a mainstay of the national team in recent years. But that’s no longer the case.
Gnabry scored just five goals across the Bundesliga and Champions League or Bayern this term, managing just 632 minutes of action across 17 appearances in those competitions.
The 28-year-old sustained a hamstring injury in May, and that all but ended his chances of featuring in his nation’s home tournament.
GAVI
It’s a huge shame that Gavi, Barcelona’s sensational young midfielder, won’t make it to Euro 2024, but he has been out with a bad injury for the majority of the campaign.
Gavi has not featured at all since November, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will have to do without him in Germany.
DAVID ALABA
Another injury-enforced absentee is David Alaba.
The versatile defender was back on the bench as Real Madrid won the Champions League on June 1, but having been out since December due to an ACL injury, the former Bayern star was never likely to make the cut for Austria.
Coach Ralf Rangnick has, however, added Alaba to his coaching staff for the tournament, meaning the 31-year-old will be able to have some form of impact.
JAMES MADDISON
For whatever reason, James Maddison has never been able to cement himself as a regular contributor under Southgate, and in truth, it was probably not a surprise to see the Tottenham playmaker miss out on the 26-man Three Lions squad.
Indeed, Maddison himself conceded his form at the tail end of the campaign had not been good enough, after what had been a fantastic start to life at Spurs.
He has only won seven caps, but a bit like Grealish, his flair in the final third could be a notable absence if England need to break down a stubborn defence.
BEN WHITE
Not that this was a shock in any way, given Southgate had already confirmed Ben White has — for the time being — withdrawn himself from international contention, but it is nevertheless a shame to see the Arsenal defender so reluctant to play for his country.
He has had a brilliant season for the Gunners, and with England’s struggles at the back, would have been a useful option.
PAUL POGBA
Paul Pogba’s fall from grace has been stark.
Heralded as the world’s best midfielder when he rejoined Manchester United from Juventus in 2016, Pogba’s career has never lived up to what it could have done.
Sure, he was a World Cup winner with France in 2018, and he impressed in flashes at Euro 2020, but injuries derailed his return to Juve in 2022. And then, earlier this year, he received a long-term suspension from football due to doping.
While Pogba is currently appealing the decision, it is unlikely we ever see him in a France shirt again.
I think the use of game models by most of the national team coaches around the world is contributing to the omission of certain players. The US refusing to call up veteran John Brooks is one such example.