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England have often gone into tournaments with inflated expectations and confidence, but this time the hype is justified. The Three Lions should be heading to Germany with one intention only: to bring the trophy home.
Gareth Southgate’s side were just a couple of penalties away from ending 55 years of hurt in the last European Championship, but since that agonising final defeat to Italy at Wembley, they have only gotten stronger. They shone at the 2022 World Cup, being eliminated by the finest of margins by France, and have gotten used to going deep in tournaments, something that was unthinkable in the past.
Harry Kane is even more prolific and has been breaking all sorts of scoring records in Germany with Bayern Munich, while Jude Bellingham has conquered the most demanding fans in the world and become Real Madrid’s most important player.
Meanwhile, the England’s Manchester City contingent have gotten used to lifting a trophy every few months, Bukayo Saka has become Arsenal’s talisman and fringe players such as James Maddison and Ollie Watkins are having sensational seasons.
Given the embarrassment of riches at his disposal, Southgate has no excuses for his side not going all the way this summer. But who will make England’s Euro 2024 squad? GOAL takes a look…
Southgate has been pretty consistent with his goalkeeper selections, sticking with the trio of Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone since June 2023.
Pickford has been the undisputable No.1 since Southgate first took charge in 2016, and that is unlikely to change in the build-up to Euro 2024. Pickford has continued to perform superbly for Everton, keeping the second-highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League despite the Toffees’ struggles. Meanwhile, Ramsdale has lost his place to David Raya as Arsenal’s No.1.
Nick Pope has been out of the picture since undergoing shoulder surgery in December, and although he could return before the end of the season, he is unlikely to be recalled by Southgate, who had dropped him from the squad even before his injury troubles.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | Everton |
| Aaron Ramsdale | Arsenal |
| Sam Johnstone | Crystal Palace |
| Nick Pope | Newcastle |
| Dean Henderson | Crystal Palace |
| Jack Butland | Rangers |
England’s defence has also been pretty consistent under Southgate, and the same back three of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Harry Maguire that lined up at the 2018 World Cup could also be starting the Three Lions’ first game of the Euros against Serbia.
However, there have a number of big injury setbacks across the defence, leaving Reece James and Marc Guehi with races against time to be fit for the tournament. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, who has earned his first ever call-up for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, could take Guehi’s place.
Joe Gomez has made a welcome return after a four-year absence on the back of his excellent form for Liverpool, and don’t rule out a last-minute call-up for his team-mate Jarell Quansah either.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Kyle Walker | Manchester City |
| John Stones | Manchester City |
| Harry Maguire | Manchester United |
| Ben Chilwell | Chelsea |
| Jarrad Branthwaite | Everton |
| Joe Gomez | Liverpool |
| Lewis Dunk | Brighton |
| Ezri Konsa | Aston Villa |
| Reece James | Chelsea |
| Levi Colwill | Chelsea |
| Fikayo Tomori | AC Milan |
| Kieran Trippier | Newcastle |
| Dan Burn | Newcastle |
| Marc Guehi | Crystal Palace |
| Jarell Quansah | Liverpool |
| Rico Lewis | Manchester City |
| Luke Shaw | Manchester United |
The midfield is a curious area for England, as they have two of the best operators in the world in Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, and then plenty of question marks over who should play alongside them.
Conor Gallagher is the most in-form midfielder aside from Rice and Bellingham and he should have that third place locked down. However, Southgate has shown unwavering loyalty to Jordan Henderson despite his nightmare season in Saudi Arabia and then with Ajax. Trent Alexander-Arnold is also an option after Southgate brought him into midfield, although the Liverpool star has struggled with injuries this season and he is still an option at right-back if anything happens to Walker.
Southgate gave a late call-up to Kobbie Mainoo for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, having initially resisted bringing him in due to his young age and inexperience, as well as a fear of putting too much pressure on the 18-year-old’s shoulders. However, the Manchester United midfielder’s exceptional display in the FA Cup win over Liverpool has helped change the manager’s mind, and he is now in the frame to be selected for Germany.
Kalvin Phillips will struggle to return to the team after finally being dropped following his long struggles with Manchester City and then West Ham, as will his new team-mate James Ward-Prowse. Harvey Elliot is yet to earn a senior call-up, but that could change if his excellent form for Liverpool continues.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Declan Rice | Arsenal |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid |
| Conor Gallagher | Chelsea |
| James Maddison | Tottenham |
| Jordan Henderson | Ajax |
| Kobbie Mainoo | Manchester United |
| Kalvin Phillips | West Ham |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool |
| Harvey Elliot | Liverpool |
| James Ward-Prowse | West Ham |
| Curtis Jones | Liverpool |
Southgate could hardly ask for a better set of forwards to choose from, and there is a case to made that England have the highest number of quality attackers in the world.
As well as Kane, who has scored 31 goals in 26 league games for Bayern, Watkins is in the form of his life and is the second-highest scorer in the Premier League, only trailing Erling Haaland.
It speaks volumes of the array of brilliant English forwards that Dominic Solanke hasn’t been called-up recently despite scoring 15 Premier League goals, as many as Mohamed Salah.
There is also no shortage of outstanding wide forwards, with Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer recently joining the fray to complement the highly-experienced yet still remarkably young Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden.
Raheem Sterling faces an almost impossible task in returning to the squad barring a big upswing in his form at the end of the season, while Eberechi Eze and Jack Grealish will be hoping to recover from their injury problems and make their case to be included when they return to full fitness.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Jarrod Bowen | West Ham United |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal |
| Harry Kane | Bayern Munich |
| Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
| Jack Grealish | Manchester City |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City |
| Anthony Gordon | Newcastle |
| Cole Palmer | Everton |
| Ivan Toney | Brentford |
| Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa |
| Dominic Solanke | Bournemouth |
| Callum Wilson | Newcastle |
| Raheem Sterling | Chelsea |
| Eberechi Eze | Crystal Palace |
Southgate is notorious for sticking to his guns and refraining from experiments, especially in major tournaments. Even fair-weather England fans with only basic knowledge of the team could probably guess the team he will pick in Germany and get it spot-on.
The main areas of interest are at left-back, where Chilwell will be fighting against Kieran Trippier, who has had an up-and-down season. The Chelsea defender also has the advantage of being left-footed, unlike Trippier.
Henderson is likely to remain a starter although he faces fierce competition from Gallagher. Foden could play in midfield, too, after thriving in a deeper role this season with City, although Southgate seems to prefer him as a wide forward. Rice and Bellingham are nailed-on to start, meanwhile.
Saka and Kane do not have to worry about their places, and if Southgate still views Foden as a left-forward then he is certain to start alongside them due to Marcus Rashford’s struggles this campaign.
England XI (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell; Rice, Henderson, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Foden.
Ben White has asked not to be called up to the squad, taking a rare and controversial decision to shirk national duty after leaving the team in the middle of the 2022 World Cup for ‘personal reasons’. His decision deprives Southgate of one of the most in-form right-backs in the Premier League although at least England have no shortage of options in that position.
Tyrone Mings is the only player to be 100 percent ruled out through injury, although Pope, James, Luke Shaw and Grealish will need to prove their fitness after long spells out.
| Name | Club | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Ben White | Arsenal | Withdrawn |
| Tyrone Mings | Aston Villa | Injury |
