Gareth Southgate has named a 33-man provisional England squad for Euro 2024, with both Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson left out.
There are plenty of tough calls for Southgate to make, with none bigger than the decision to leave out Rashford.
The Manchester United has paid the price for his poor form this season, with Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Reece James and Henderson among those also overlooked.
Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze are all selected.
Adam Wharton is included too, along with Luke Shaw, despite his injury issues.
Liverpool duo Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones make the cut, along with Ivan Toney and Jack Grealish.
As expected Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane leads the side as captain.
Southgate told reporters about the decision to leave out Rashford.
He said:
“With Marcus we just feel other players have had better seasons.That’s it.”
Meanwhile Henderson has struggled over the past 12 months, first making a controversial move to Saudi Arabia before a disappointing switch to Ajax in January.
On Henderson Southgate said
“The 33 isn’t quite a fair definition because we are taking a bigger squad with young players to look at as well.
“Hendo has missed five weeks and hasn’t been able to get to the intensity since then.
He’s a fantastic professional, it was a difficult call to make as he’s been so supportive in my time.
Ben [Chilwell], Marcus, Jordan were all incredibly professional and they dealt with it well.
“Henderson will be a miss. He’s an exceptional individual, a fantastic human being.
He’s been in that leadership role since I took charge.
“We have had a lot of our senior players missing, we made Declan Rice captain and he rose to that challenge.
That’s what we want other people to do. We have young players with a lot of caps, there’s no reason why young players can’t lead. You are giving other players space to develop.”
Sterling made 31 starts across all competitions for new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists.
However he is the unlucky player with such a congested attacking section for Southgate to choose from.
Chelsea skipper James and Chilwell have both missed large chunks of the season with injury.
Southgate has used the larger squad as a chance to look at some younger players including Liverpool duo Jarrell Quansah and Curtis Jones, as well as Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Crystal Palace‘s Adam Wharton.
Wharton is joined in the squad by Palace teammates Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Dean Henderson.
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West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Burnley’s James Trafford are both in as well.
Bowen is part of an attack alongside Kane, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish along with Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins, but Dominic Solanke misses out.
Southgate also admitted that it might be a long shot for Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw to make it to the final 26.
“He’s up against it. He has missed a lot of football.
The fact he has been our first choice in that positions means we are probably giving him a bit longer than we might have done… I’d have to say, he’s a long shot.”
England’s provisional squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers:
Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders:
Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Jarrell Quansah (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City)
Midfielders:
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eberchi Eze (Crystal Palace), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Attackers:
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, captain), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
