On Thursday 6th June, England manager Gareth Southgate announced his 26-man squad for the Euro 2024 tournament. The Three Lions boss decided to make the announcement earlier than he needed to (the deadline was 23.00 on Friday 7th June), to keep “heads clear” among the players. In this article, we’ll take a look at the 26 players who’ll be travelling to Germany, and the seven who were let go from the 33-man provisional squad. We’ll also give our opinion on whether Southgate’s squad is strong enough to win the Euros.
Note that all stats are correct ahead of the England v Iceland match on 7th June 2024
England’s Euro 2024 Squad
| Player | Club | Position | England Caps | England Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Henderson | Crystal Palace | Goalkeeper | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan Pickford | Everton | Goalkeeper | 61 | 0 |
| Aaron Ramsdale | Arsenal | Goalkeeper | 4 | 0 |
| Lewis Dunk | Brighton & Hove Albion | Defender | 6 | 0 |
| Joe Gomez | Liverpool | Defender | 14 | 0 |
| Marc Guehi | Crystal Palace | Defender | 10 | 0 |
| Ezri Konsa | Aston Villa | Defender | 3 | 0 |
| Luke Shaw | Manchester United | Defender | 31 | 3 |
| John Stones | Manchester City | Defender | 71 | 3 |
| Kieran Trippier | Newcastle United | Defender | 47 | 1 |
| Kyle Walker | Manchester City | Defender | 82 | 1 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool | Midfielder | 24 | 3 |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | Midfielder | 29 | 3 |
| Conor Gallagher | Chelsea | Midfielder | 13 | 0 |
| Kobbie Mainoo | Manchester United | Midfielder | 2 | 0 |
| Declan Rice | Arsenal | Midfielder | 50 | 3 |
| Adam Wharton | Crystal Palace | Midfielder | 1 | 0 |
| Jarrod Bowen | West Ham United | Forward | 8 | 0 |
| Eberechi Eze | Crystal Palace | Forward | 3 | 0 |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City | Forward | 33 | 4 |
| Anthony Gordon | Newcastle United | Forward | 2 | 0 |
| Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | Forward | 90 | 63 |
| Cole Palmer | Chelsea | Forward | 3 | 1 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | Forward | 32 | 11 |
| Ivan Toney | Brentford | Forward | 2 | 1 |
| Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | Forward | 12 | 3 |
There is undoubtedly a lot of talent contained within those 26 players, though there is perhaps a lack of experience compared to the squads of some other nations. In total, the players have amassed 634 caps between them at the time of writing, an average of less than 25 per player. If you take out Kane, Rice, Walker, Stones and Pickford, the average of the remaining 21 players goes down to just over 13 caps. Okay, all the players have played plenty of games at the highest levels of club football, so it is perhaps not a major issue. But how about the number of goals between them?
This could be more of an issue. Of the 100 England goals scored by the current crop in total, 63 have come from one man: Harry Kane. Only one other player has netted more than 10 England goals (Bukayo Saka with 11). Again, there are plenty of goalscorers in the team who have proven their prowess in front of goal at club level, but can they be relied upon to deliver the goods if they get a single chance against France in the semis of the Euros? Time will tell. We certainly think a lot rests on the shoulders of England’s captain and leading scorer.
Players Who Miss Out
The following seven players were selected for Southgate’s provisional Euros squad but didn’t make the final 26.
| Player | Club | England Caps | England Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Grealish | Man City | 36 | 2 |
| Harry Maguire | Man United | 63 | 7 |
| James Maddison | Tottenham | 7 | 0 |
| Jarell Quansah | Liverpool | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Jones | Liverpool | 0 | 0 |
| James Trafford | Burnley | 0 | 0 |
| Jarrad Branthwaite | Everton | 1 | 0 |
There was no real surprise that Maddison, Quansah, Jones, Trafford and Branthwaite (who don’t have 10 caps between them) missed out. But the departure from the squad of long-time Southgate servants Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire raised a few eyebrows.
Sometimes accused of putting loyalty before reality when it comes to sticking with players who aren’t performing, Southgate certainly didn’t do that in the case of Maguire and Grealish, both of whom have performed very well for England under his tenure. The problem is that both have been far from their best this term. Grealish only featured in 20 Premier League games for Man City, scoring just three times (compared to 19 goals in 35 league matches for teammate Phil Foden). Maguire, meanwhile, hasn’t been a permanent fixture in the Man United defence for a while, making 22 league appearances in the season just gone and just 16 the campaign before that. In short, Southgate made the right calls in letting these players go in favour of those who’ve performed consistently well all season.
Can This England Squad Win the Euros?
According to the bookies, England have a great chance of going all the way in Germany. In fact, they’re currently the favourites to do just that with many bookies pricing the Three Lions at odds of just 7/2, which doesn’t look like amazing value from where we’re sitting! France are next at 4/1 with hosts Germany at 11/2. The odds look a little slim on England breaking their Euros duck, but that’s not to say Southgate’s men can’t get the job done.
England have shown in recent tournaments that they can mix it with the biggest and best around and they were just a couple of penalties away from winning Euro 2020. The difference here, though, is that they won’t be on home soil (Euro 2020… or rather 2021 turned into effectively a home tournament for the Three Lions). Of course, many of the players who experienced defeat at the last Euros and indeed at the World Cup against France are still in the squad, and those experiences can be built upon.
There are still question marks over whether England’s defence will prove robust enough when they face the best sides in the tournament in the latter stages of the tournament (assuming they get there). But at the other end of the pitch, England are spoiled for choice. Kane needs to stay fit and sharp for England to have a realistic chance of success, but with a bang-in-form Foden and Real Madrid’s player of the season in Jude Bellingham anything is possible. Add the likes of Rice, Saka and Cole who are all playing brilliantly, perhaps it might just be England’s time to finally land the Euros.