Gareth Southgate announced his final England squad for Euro 2024 earlier today with the tournament kicking off a week tomorrow.
From the 33 man provisional squad he announced a couple of weeks ago, James Trafford, Jarrel Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite, Harry Maguire, Curtis Jones, James Maddison and Jack Grealish were the names who missed cut.
Among the names that made the cut were Crystal Palace pair Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton.
Let's see what I think of the squad.
I am very surprised that Branthwaite isn't included as he's had an excellent season for Everton. I feel that he should be in ahead of Lewis Dunk who hasn't had as good a season with Brighton, and has rarely convinced on the international stage.
I'm surprised that Adam Wharton has been included as I wasn't expecting him to be in the final squad. He does deserve to be in the squad as he had a good half-season with Crystal Palace. But I thought someone else would get in ahead of him.
The exclusions of James Maddison and Jack Grealish surprised me a bit as they've been part of recent squads. Maddison has been in every squad since the World Cup whilst Grealish has been included in the squad at the last two tournaments. I can understand why both of them haven't been included because they haven't been in good form of late and England obviously have a wealth of options in their attack. But they both could've been useful options off the bench had they been included.
Eberechi Eze 100% deserves to be included as he had a strong end to the season with Crystal Palace and impressed against Bosnia on Monday. He'll be a useful option off the bench should England need someone to offer some spark and creativity.
In terms of the rest of the squad, Ivan Toney's inclusion surprises me as he wasn't in good form towards the end of the season with Brentford. He did impress over the March international break, but I still didn't expect him to be included because of the form he was in during the latter stages of the season.
Joe Gomez's inclusion is understandable because of his versatility. England are very light in the left back department with Luke Shaw being the only option and short on match sharpness. Gomez might not have played as much towards the end of the season with Liverpool, but because of his versatility his inclusion is understandable.
FINAL ENGLAND SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
DEFENDERS: Kyle Walker (Man City), Kieron Trippier (Newcastle), John Stones (Man City), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Crystal Palace), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Man United)
MIDFIELDERS: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kobbie Mainoo (Man United), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Man City), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
FORWARDS: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Ivan Toney (Brentford)
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