In the final England squad for Euro 2024, Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire are not included.
Although Luke Shaw, a teammate at Manchester United, enters the squad despite not having played since February due to a hamstring injury, Maguire is absent owing to a calf ailment that has kept him out of action since mid-April.
Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen have been selected ahead of Manchester City’s Grealish, a £100 million transfer from Aston Villa in 2021 and three-time Premier League winner.
James Maddison and Curtis Jones have also been dropped, leaving Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, who had not been capped until Monday’s triumph against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Eberechi Eze as the most-represented club in the team with four players.
While Jarrad Branthwaite and Jarell Quansah have been left out, Southgate has selected Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, and Ezri Konsa as possible center-back partners for John Stones. The youthful Liverpool defender, however, has remained on standby.
Luke Shaw, meanwhile, has joined the final 26-man roster. England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that the left-back may be available for the Three Lions’ June 20 group stage match against Denmark.
Kobbie Mainoo, a young player for Manchester United who earned his debut for his country in a match against Brazil in March, has also been included. Southgate has chosen to have Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins replace Harry Kane as his deputies.
Goalkeepers can be substituted during the competition, but England can make last-minute additions to their roster up until their opening match against Serbia on June 16 at the Euros.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).
Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).
Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
England manager Gareth Southgate, speaking at a news conference after the announcement:
“All of the players [not included] took the news really respectfully. All players of course will feel they should have been in and that’s why they’re top players because they have that self-belief and they have that mindset.
“The fact is we’ve got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons – particularly in the past six months or so.
“We saw some fantastic performances the other night which underlined some of that and in the attacking area of the pitch we’re blessed with a lot of options and they’re all slightly different.
“Madders [Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
“They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
“We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with. It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.
“Trent can play both [in midfield and defence], we had nine defenders in the last couple of tournaments so I think we’re the same now.
“That was part of the reason we couldn’t take Harry Maguire. We would’ve had to take a 10th defender, and that balance wouldn’t have been right, it would’ve left us short in other areas.
“Harry has made some progress, but it’s been complicated and we wouldn’t have had him in the group stages. There were too many hurdles to get through without being clear where we might get to.
“Knowing we haven’t got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline, we need players who are fit and ready to go from the start.
“It was a really difficult call, you know how I feel about Harry, what he’s done for England and for me as a manager. It’s a slightly different case to [Grealish and Maddison], but it’s no easier.”
“I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer,” Maguire posted on social media.
“Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted.”
Maddison tweeted earlier: “Devastated doesn’t quite cut it. Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.
“I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26-man squad as I feel I bring something different & had been a mainstay in this whole qualifying campaign.”
Other posts by Hiresh
