Gareth Southgate has a lot of decisions to make in the coming weeks, but the first will be to select his final 26-man squad for Euro 2024.
The provisional 33-man squad will have to be whittled down, following Monday’s 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina and Friday’s final warm-up friendly against Iceland.
Has Adam Wharton done enough? Or is it too soon for him? Will Jack Grealish and/or James Maddison miss out? What about Ivan Toney?
We got a few of our writers together to pick their final squads — and cut out an unlucky seven. Do you agree with their selections? Let us know in the comment section below.
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The 33-man preliminary squad named by Gareth Southgate on May 21:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
It’s a horrible exercise because picking an England squad these days means leaving out players you rate rather than just making up the numbers with players you don’t. “A nice problem to have,” as managers invariably say — but I found it painful even though the only comeback I will face will be in the comments section.
The popular thing would be to take all 11 of the players listed as attackers. But, realistically, you’re looking at a maximum of four on the pitch at any one time, so who do you leave out?
My fall guys: James Maddison, Jack Grealish and Ivan Toney. One factor is that none of that trio ended the season well, but it’s less about them and more about my enthusiasm for Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins.
Talking about enthusiasm, I have spent the last few months drooling over Adam Wharton — even more than I have Kobbie Mainoo, whose more eye-catching talent is not yet matched by Wharton-type consistency. But Mainoo still makes my squad ahead of Curtis Jones, who, after an excellent spell earlier in the season, didn’t seem to regain his rhythm since injury.
There’s no joy in filling your squad with backup defenders, but they will be important with fitness doubts over some of the established options. Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Jarrad Branthwaite or Jarell Quansah? Time to get ruthless rather than fret about the Konsa-Quansahs.
I’m still unsure about leaving out Grealish. I’ve been underwhelmed by his performances over his three years at Manchester City, with the exception of a purple patch at the end of year two, but he does offer something different. He looked lively as a substitute on Monday night. I could easily be persuaded to include him.
But after the season he has had — and after the seasons Eze, Gordon, Palmer and Bowen have had — it looks like it will be a very close call either way for Southgate.
Oliver Kay
I was wondering where The Clamour would come from before this England squad is finalised; Palmer is the obvious one, but that has now moved to whether he gets in the starting XI, rather than the 26.
Hello then, to Adam Wharton, an undeniably talented player who will certainly play many times for England in the future, but seemed to get everyone extremely excited after a decent half-hour against Bosnia & Herzegovina, the 74th-ranked team in the world. Mainoo and Jones both have more of a body of work than Wharton, so I’d take them over him.
In defence, there are eight centre-backs in the original 33 so a few of them can go: Jarell Quansah is the obvious one, and it feels like Jarrad Branthwaite has overtaken Lewis Dunk. It’s then between Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez… and Gomez just, just, just edges it because he’s slightly more adaptable, which is extremely harsh on Konsa.
Of the goalkeepers, it’s pretty amazing Trafford is anywhere near the squad, so he can stay at home too.
It feels weird that leaving James Maddison out is such an easy call — but it definitely is. His form for Tottenham since his return from injury means there are plenty of other attacking midfielders who could do his job and are in better touch. On a similar note, Ivan Toney will be lucky to make the 26 having not scored a goal since February, but my final cut is Grealish, purely on the basis there are a good few others who can do what he does, and did it better in the second half of the season.
Nick Miller
You don’t need four goalkeepers for an international tournament, so that’s James Trafford out immediately. We’re wrapping Luke Shaw up in cotton wool and keeping him for the knockout stages.
This feels like a tournament too soon for Jarell Quansah and one too late for Lewis Dunk, so they also miss out. Konsa is in an odd position; talented and versatile but less progressive than Gomez at full-back and not as effective in the air as Marc Guehi (who is the Harry Maguire successor). Of the seven I’m leaving out, he’s the most likely to make the England squad for World Cup 2026.
Curtis Jones’ ball retention has been important to Liverpool across phases of 2023-24, but Wharton’s ability to receive and pass out of pressure means he’s a genuine starting option in that troublesome midfielder-next-to-Declan-Rice spot.
Maddison has been an odd fit for England for years. He probably spent one season too long under Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City and has a case of the Philippe Coutinhos about him; in that he needs the ball a little bit too much to affect things. The emergence of Cole Palmer means the Spurs playmaker misses out.
The real head-scratcher for me is Ivan Toney. The Brentford man offers a better facsimile of Harry Kane’s game than Ollie Watkins and has an outstanding penalty record. Yet, Toney ended the season on a duddering note and taking a player just in case of a shootout feels like one luxury too many — especially in a squad with at least four excellent options off the cuff.
Carl Anka
Third-choice goalkeepers are rarely needed, so I would give James Trafford some of that coveted major tournament experience instead of the more senior Henderson.
A few defenders have to go and, while an unpopular move, one of those should be Marc Guehi. International ability has to be a consideration when picking a squad and, despite impressing for Palace, Guehi has not been convincing in his 10 appearances for England. The same is true of Lewis Dunk, whose poor showings in the March friendlies have done irreparable damage.
This summer comes too soon for Liverpool pair Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones, who are too far down the pecking order in their respective positions.
There is a healthy selection of forwards that needs to be cut, and James Maddison feels the easiest choice having never really ‘done it’ for England. His career shows that he seldom does his best work at this stage of the campaign and his late-season return from injury for Spurs flattered to deceive.
There is no need for three strikers and, in my opinion, Ivan Toney is a better fit for England than Ollie Watkins, who is unfortunate to miss out. Toney’s Brentford form has been poor but he was excellent against Belgium in March and is more stylistically similar to Harry Kane. Domestic form should not be completely discounted but the Villa forward has never quite looked at home in an England shirt, and when picking a second-choice tournament striker, penalty-taking must be a consideration.
Ed Mackey
Right now, Dean Henderson is a better goalkeeper than James Trafford, but being a third goalkeeper at a tournament is also a developmental role. Trafford’s struggles this season, at times, were also overstated. The Burnley goalkeeper is low on confidence but high on potential — his performances with England last summer show that he is still a future international. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale was the only uncapped player in the last European Championship squad; his development since has been supercharged.
In defence, injury concerns mean that versatility is important. Southgate should risk Luke Shaw’s fitness — he is the best left-back option by a distance — but that necessitates having reserves. This means Joe Gomez gets the nod over Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, and Jarell Quansah. Guehi in particular is unlucky; he would go if Shaw’s fitness was a given.
For me, Jarrad Branthwaite’s ceiling and left-footedness make him impossible to leave out.
Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton’s late-season form means that both should travel. Though Curtis Jones has impressed this year, he is not a natural in a double-pivot — where England are lacking.
In attack? For months, I have advocated for Ivan Toney’s distinct style as a bench option, when compared to Kane, but he did not end the season strongly, while Ollie Watkins’ link-up play and goalscoring form means Toney cannot be given a free pass into the squad on profile alone.
James Maddison feels like the big omission — and it comes down to the form of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Eberechi Eze. All are wide players who drift into attacking midfield, or vice versa; it is difficult to see Maddison getting minutes ahead of any of them.
Maddison lacked form towards the end of the season, and while the same can be said for Jack Grealish, his profile is distinct enough from Foden (and alternative option Anthony Gordon) to make him a genuine option off the left.
Jacob Whitehead
Key dates:
- Friday, June 7 – England vs Iceland (Friendly)
- Friday, June 7 – Euro 2024 final squads must be submitted
- Saturday, June 8 – Euro 2024 final squads will be announced
- Sunday, June 16 – Serbia vs England (Euro 2024)
- Thursday, June 20 – Denmark vs England (Euro 2024)
- Tuesday, June 25 – England vs Slovenia (Euro 2024)
- Saturday, June 29 – Tuesday, July 2 – Euro 2024 Round of 16
- Friday, July 5 & Saturday, July 6 – Euro 2024 Quarter-finals
- Tuesday, July 9 & Wednesday, July 10 – Euro 2024 Semi-finals
- Sunday, July 14 – Euro 2024 final
(Top photos: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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