Euro 2024: Gareth Southgate announces provisional England squad – live | England

Who could have foreseen last year that Marcus Rashford – who scored 34 goals in all competitions last season – would not make the Euros squad at the age of 26? The Manchester United forward has the talent and a very high ceiling but simply does not deserve to be in the England squad ahead of Anthony Gordon, who has been brilliant all season for Newcastle. Meanwhile, there has been very little mention of Jack Grealish, who has been in and out of the Manchester City side.

Hello everyone. Obviously this news will be mainly followed by England fans, but Group C opponents Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia will also be watching closely, as will the other tournament favourites, particularly if there are a few surprise inclusions.

This article is a couple of months old, written just after the March friendlies, but a still a good marker for where teams are heading into Euro 2024.

Michael Butler will be guiding you through the rest of the England squad announcement. Thanks for joining me!

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Gareth Southgate is expected to name about 30 players for this provisional squad. He will then trim it for the Euro 2024 finals after England’s warm-up friendlies against Bosnia & Herzegovina at St James’ Park on 3 June and against Iceland at Wembley on 7 June.

For the tournament, England have been drawn in Group C. Their opening match will be against Serbia on 16 June before they take on Denmark on 20 June and Slovenia on 25 June.

Southgate’s side head to the tournament as the last edition’s runners-up after losing to Italy in the final after added extra-time and penalties.

The reasoning behind Marcus Rashford’s omission is his lack of form for Manchester United. Players such as Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka had stronger showings throughout the season and are more preferred in the wide attacking positions.

Rashford made his England senior debut in 2016 when he was called up for the Euro 2016 squad, just four months after making his Manchester United debut. He made his tournament debut at the age of 18 years and 229 days, breaking Wayne Rooney’s record as being England’s youngest ever player at a European Championships.

More recently, he scored twice for England at the last World Cup in Qatar, with both goals being in the group stages. He also scored twice in England’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, against North Macedonia and Italy.

Marcus Rashford out of provisional England squad

On the exclusion of Jordan Henderson: the Ajax midfielder has 81 appearances for England and has been a mainstay for Gareth Southgate in tournaments of the past. He was often named captain and lead out the side in the absence of Harry Kane.

Ivan Toney is expected to be called up despite having not scored for Brentford since 17 February. The striker has had a tumultuous season after being banned for eight months due to 232 breaches of the FA’s rules on betting.

He returned to action on 20 January and scored directly from a free-kick in a 3-2 defeat of Nottingham Forest. He scored three times in his next four games but then struggled to find the back of the net.

He has made two appearances for England, scoring once in a friendly against Belgium.

Away from England for a moment: The Germany and Real Madrid player Toni Kroos will retire after Euro 2024.

In a statement on Instagram, Kroos said:

My career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship. As I have always said: Real Madrid is and will be my last club.

Germany will host this summer’s tournament and are in Group A alongside Hungary, Scotland and Switzerland.

Another youngster, Adam Wharton, 20, will receive his first call-up to the senior squad after only one appearance with the under-21s. His rise has been fast but he has taken it in his stride. Having been signed by Crystal Palace in the winter transfer window from Blackburn Rovers, the languid midfielder has started every match since his first, and has been key to his side’s resurgence under Oliver Glasner.

Gareth Southgate has seemingly prioritised youngsters who have been in form during this past club season. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, who is uncapped, will receive his second-ever call-up to the England squad. Despite Everton’s struggles this season, their defence was solid, with the side conceding 51 goals in the Premier League. Only the top three – Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool – conceded fewer goals and Branthwaite was a big part of shoring up the defence and ensuring that Sean Dyche’s side did not go into the final weeks of the campaign hampered by the weight of a possible relegation. The Carlisle academy graduate is in the Premier League’s top 10 for interceptions and no one his age or younger has made more than his 50.

Raheem Sterling misses out on his seventh England squad in a row. Since his move from Manchester City to Chelsea, the winger has been inconsistent and sometimes struggled for form. Several players have moved ahead of him in the pecking order. His last appearance for country was the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in Qatar.

The uncapped duo of Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones have impressed for Liverpool this season. Quansah, 21, has four appearances for England’s under-21 squad and made 33 appearances under Jürgen Klopp on Merseyside this season.

Jones, 23, has made 20 appearances for England’s under-21 squad winning the European Under-21 Championship in 2023. He made 36 appearances for club this season, scoring five goals.

Palace’s attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze will make the squad after a strong end to the season. The West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen is in with James Maddison. Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon is likely to be included but there is doubt over Marcus Rashford’s place and Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has not been included.

Southgate also has a defensive headache on his hands. Luke Shaw, his first-choice left-back, has not played for Manchester United since February but he will be given time to prove his fitness.

Southgate has previously taken players in the latter stages of injury rehabilitation to the previous two tournaments when 26-man squads have been permitted: Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson to Euro 2020; Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips to the 2022 World Cup. All contributed after missing the opening two matches.

Ben Chilwell, who hoped to deputise for Shaw, has not been included. The Chelsea left-back has struggled for fitness. His versatile Chelsea team-mate Levi Colwill will be in the provisional squad.

Southgate also has concerns in central defence, where Maguire is an injury doubt. Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi is in the squad as is Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.

Henderson and Chilwell out, Wharton and Jones in

Jacob Steinberg

Preamble