Sports Mole takes a look at the main contenders and the hopeful outsiders bidding to make Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.
As gripping domestic seasons come to a close all across Europe, there is little time to rest for the continent’s best, who have Euro 2024 glory to fight for in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
For Gareth Southgate‘s star-studded England squad, going one better is the ultimate aim after their Italy-inflicted heartbreak in the Euro 2020 showpiece match, where the Azzurri’s penalty prowess propelled them to Wembley stardom.
Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia will be the group foes awaiting the Three Lions, whose provisional squad is set to be named by Southgate this Tuesday, before the final selections – which can now comprise 26 players – are submitted by June 7.
With that in mind, Sports Mole takes a look at the main players and outside contenders for a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad, giving our verdict on which athletes have done enough for a seat on the plane.
GOALKEEPERS
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With 13 clean sheets in the 2023-24 Premier League season – second only to Arsenal’s David Raya – Jordan Pickford will no doubt enter another major tournament as England’s number one, leaving two men to scrap it out for the right to act as his deputies.
Aaron Ramsdale – the man brutally demoted to second choice at the Emirates behind Raya – has been Pickford’s lieutenant for the past couple of years, but his severely reduced minutes and mistakes when called upon gives Southgate an unnecessary selection headache.
However, Ramsdale will likely be saved by a lack of other standout goalkeeping options, as Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone is out with an elbow injury, and Burnley’s James Trafford – called up in March – lost his place in the Clarets squad and is surely out of the reckoning here too.
Eyes have been cast over to Scotland, where Jack Butland has excelled in between the sticks for Rangers with 25 clean sheets and has put himself firmly in contention for an unforeseen recall, but the 31-year-old may just lose out to another ex-Manchester United man.
Thanks to Johnstone’s injury, Dean Henderson has been an ever-present in Crystal Palace’s incredible end to the 2023-24 campaign – keeping four clean sheets in his last seven Premier League games – and after missing Euro 2020 with a hip problem, the 27-year-old’s time may be nigh.
Our picks: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Dean Henderson
DEFENDERS
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There was a time not too long ago where Harry Maguire‘s England selections would spark uproar, as the £80m man struggled to reignite his Manchester United career, but he is now back in Erik ten Hag‘s good books and – crucially – never left Southgate’s.
Maguire, whose performances for the national team can never be called into question, is one of a few surefire defensive picks also including Premier League champions Kyle Walker and John Stones, even if the latter has been frozen out by Pep Guardiola recently.
Brighton & Hove Albion captain Lewis Dunk should be on the plane as well – assuming he can overcome a knee problem – but Tyrone Mings‘s severe injury has extinguished his chances of Euro 2024 selection.
Instead, much-coveted Everton man Jarrad Branthwaite – already an Under-21 European champion – is at the forefront of contenders to get the nod, even though he is yet to earn his senior debut and failed to make it off the bench in March’s friendlies with Brazil and Belgium.
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Branthwaite’s steadfast displays in the Toffees backline surely justifies selection over the likes of Fikayo Tomori – who has never been a Southgate favourite anyway – and Levi Colwill, although Marc Guehi and Champions League-bound Ezri Konsa will provide stiff competition.
A centre-back who also provides invaluable versatility, Joe Gomez has shone on the left for Liverpool in 2023-24 and warrants a ticket too, most likely with Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell, stalwarts of the national team setup in spite of their frequent fitness troubles.
On form, there is arguably no better right-back pick for England than Arsenal’s Ben White, but the 26-year-old asked to be left out of March’s selections, only a few months after Southgate claimed that there were a few defenders ahead of him in the pecking order.
Whether White’s reluctance to represent his nation – which allegedly stemmed from a Steve Holland comment at the World Cup – will go as far as a Euros snub remains to be seen, but if so, Kieran Trippier‘s spot is safe.
Chelsea skipper Reece James, meanwhile, is a notable absentee, having failed to shake off his perennial injury problems and also ending his Premier League season on a sour note with a red card against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Our picks: Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Jarrad Branthwaite, Joe Gomez, Lewis Dunk, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell
MIDFIELDERS
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Liverpool fans questioning the omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold from the defensive troupe can breathe a little easier now, as the 25-year-old has been down as a midfielder in the past few England selections thanks to his inverted prowess.
A definite pick for the engine room – where he has earned most of his England minutes over the past 12 months – Alexander-Arnold will be joined in the midfield ranks by Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, two of the first names on Southgate’s list.
Rice’s partnership with Kalvin Phillips was a cornerstone of England’s run to the Euro 2020 final, but three years down the line, the latter is out of favour at Manchester City, and his loan spell at West Ham United was the true definition of a disaster.
Having failed to return to form since being cut from the England squad and also struggling with a calf problem, Phillips can likely give up his Euro 2024 dream, which spells optimism for Chelsea’s stand-in skipper Conor Gallagher.
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The 24-year-old has been a regular for the Three Lions in recent times anyway but is now surely a guaranteed selection thanks to Phillips’s plight, but this is where things start to get particularly tricky.
Southgate’s loyalty to Jordan Henderson throughout the short-lived Saudi Arabia saga was unwavering, but it is now getting more difficult for the England boss to stick with a man who has often been booed by his own fans since leaving Liverpool.
The emergence of Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton at Manchester United and Crystal Palace respectively gives Southgate even more food for thought, but the Three Lions do not have many standout players of the latter’s profile, and his exemplary displays in Palace’s end-of-season surge are difficult to ignore.
For that reason, we are only just siding with the 20-year-old over Mainoo – despite his impressive first two games for England in March, while Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff is still out of the picture.
James Maddison‘s drop-off in form in the second half of the campaign has potentially dashed his hopes of a call-up too, but for Cole Palmer – the player with the most combined goals and assists in the 2023-24 Premier League season – a hotel key awaits.
Our picks: Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Adam Wharton, Cole Palmer
ATTACKERS
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Neither Harry Kane nor Bukayo Saka were involved in their team’s final fixtures of the 2023-24 campaign, but there is nothing to suggest that two of England’s finest offensive players are in danger of missing this summer’s Championships, even if the latter’s spot on the right comes under some threat from Palmer and others.
With 19 goals and an unrivalled 13 Premier League assists in 2023-24, Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins will be one of Kane’s backup centre-forwards in Germany, but selecting another reserve number nine is not so straightforward.
Bournemouth talisman Dominic Solanke is banging furiously on Southgate’s door thanks to his 19-goal haul, while four goals in 17 games from Ivan Toney since his betting ban run its course is not exactly a world-beating tally.
Nevertheless, the Brentford man returned to international action with a goal against Belgium in March and has likely done enough to hold off Solanke, as well as fellow capped strikers Eddie Nketiah and Callum Wilson.
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In addition to the effervescent Saka on the wings, the Premier League’s Player of the Season Phil Foden is a simple selection, and so to should Jarrod Bowen on account of his 16-goal Premier League season.
On the opposite flank, Anthony Gordon may have missed the final Premier League gameweek through injury, but his affliction is not thought to be serious, and with 11 goals and 10 assists in the top-flight campaign, he is a worthy choice.
Gordon’s gain is Jack Grealish‘s loss, as the Man City winger has been relegated to a bit-part role at the Etihad and has struggled to stay fully fit as well, so there are certainly better options than the £100m attacker.
One of those is 11-goal Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze, who out-performed Marcus Rashford on both goals and assists this season, but on this occasion, the latter’s vast international experience just wins out.
Our picks: Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Marcus Rashford
