England Euro 2024 squad: Who will Gareth Southgate will take to Germany?

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, 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 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 lays out the names in contention after a 33-man provisional roster was named on May 21…

Jordan Pickford

GOALKEEPERS

Southgate has been pretty consistent with his goalkeeper selections, sticking with the trio of Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone since June 2023. However, Johnstone will miss the tournament after suffering an elbow injury in March, and his place will now go to either club-mate Dean Henderson or Burnley’s James Trafford.

Pickford has been the undisputable No.1 since Southgate first took charge in 2016, and that is unlikely to change now. He has continued to perform superbly for Everton, keeping the second-highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League despite the Toffees’ struggles.

Name Club
Dean Henderson Crystal Palace
Jordan Pickford Everton
Aaron Ramsdale Arsenal
James Trafford Burnley

Harry Maguire England 2023

DEFENDERS

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 all start the Three Lions’ first game of the Euros against Serbia.

However, there have been a number of big injury setbacks across the defence over the past 12 months, meaning Southgate has stocked up, especially at centre-back. It remains to be seen whether Luke Shaw can prove his fitness, too, with the Manchester United left-back having made just four league appearances since the turn of the year.

Uncapped duo Jarrad Branthwaite and Jarell Quansah, meanwhile, are among those fighting for places in the final 26-man squad for Germany.

Name Club
Jarrad Branthwaite Everton
Lewis Dunk Brighton
Joe Gomez Liverpool
Marc Guehi Crystal Palace
Ezri Konsa Aston Villa
Harry Maguire Manchester United
Jarell Quansah Liverpool
Luke Shaw Manchester United
John Stones Manchester City
Kieran Trippier Newcastle
Kyle Walker Manchester City
Jude Bellingham England 2023-24 Italy

MIDFIELDERS

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 has been most in-form midfielder aside from Rice and Bellingham, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is also an option after Southgate brought him into midfield towards the end of 2023. Manchester United teenagerKobbie Mainoo, meanwhile, impressed against Brazil and Belgium in March, and is certainly in the conversation when it comes to potential starters.

Southgate has also selected uncapped duo Curtis Jones and Adam Wharton, the latter of whom has enjoyed a meteoric rise after joining Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers in January.

Name Club
Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool
Jude Bellingham Real Madrid
Conor Gallagher Chelsea
Curtis Jones Liverpool
James Maddison Tottenham
Kobbie Mainoo Manchester United
Declan Rice Arsenal
Adam Wharton Crystal Palace
Harry Kane England 2023

FORWARDS

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 44 goals in his debut campaign at Bayern, Watkins is in the form of his life, and he picked up the Premier League Playmaker of the Year award for the most assists in the division this season to go with his 19 goals.

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.

Name Club
Jarrod Bowen West Ham
Eberechi Eze Crystal Palace
Phil Foden Manchester City
Anthony Gordon Newcastle
Jack Grealish Manchester City
Harry Kane Bayern Munich
Cole Palmer Everton
Bukayo Saka Arsenal
Ivan Toney Brentford
Ollie Watkins Aston Villa
Gareth Southgate England North Macedonia 2023

EXPECTED XI

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 Shaw (if fit)l will be fighting against Kieran Trippier, who has had an up-and-down season. The United defender also has the advantage of being left-footed, unlike Trippier.

The other unknown is how the front six players will line up, and who will join Rice, Bellingham, Kane, Saka and Foden in the starting XI. Alexander-Arnold, Palmer, Mainoo and Gallagher are currently the front-runners, but much will depend on just how daring Southgate wants to be from the outset.

Ben White

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

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, as illustrated by Reece James’ omission.

The Chelsea full-back will be joined by team-mates Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling in watching the tournament from home, as the veterans were left out alongside midfield mainstays Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips, and Manchester United’s out-of-form forward Marcus Rashford.

Name Club Reason
Ben Chilwell Chelsea Not selected
Jordan Henderson Ajax Not selected
Reece James Chelsea Not selected
Sam Johnstone Crystal Palace Injury
Marcus Rashford Manchester United Not selected
Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund Not selected
Raheem Sterling Chelsea Not selected
Ben White Arsenal Withdrawn