Gareth Southgate has decided on his England squad ahead of the European Championship in Germany. The national team head coach has named his final 26-man squad on Thursday and two Manchester United players have made the cut on the final sheet, as Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw will be heading to Euros.
Man United defender Harry Maguire, as was confirmed earlier, will not be part of the squad this time around, as he failed to make the cut due to injury. It was well known from earlier on that Marcus Rashford is also not part of the England squad, as Man United star and academy graduate was not part of the preliminary squad.
With Mainoo and Shaw in the squad, it will be interesting to see how much playing time they will get. Due to not so amazing options at left-back, it is clear Southgate is ready to wait for Shaw to get back to full fitness and get more and more playing time as the tournament progresses. This kind of credit Shaw has clearly deserved with Southgate during his stellar performances at the EURO 2020 three years ago, when he shone throughout on England’s trip to the final.
On the other hand, a big number of changes in this squad compared to the team that travelled to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, Kobbie Mainoo may be getting his fair share of minutes after a great debut season in Man United’s first team. Mainoo is one of defensive midfielders who could be in action, with Declan Rice clearly as the top choice from Southgate in that position, and the duo might even play together in some matches, should Southgate feel England need such a double pivot.
Interestingly, England have put Trent Alexander-Arnold among the midfielders, so the Liverpool full-back is someone Southgate might also use in central midfield, with his ability to drift towards the right flank and create great situations with his precise long balls and crosses. Maybe Alexander-Arnold will be the one to get a chance in midfield ahead of Kobbie Mainoo, but nevertheless, this will be an amazing experience for Man United’s teenager. Just a year ago, not many people even knew about Mainoo’s existence, let alone was there anyone truly thinking he will be among the 26 players travelling to Germany 12 months later.
Here is the final 26-man squad Gareth Southgate chose for the Euro 2024:
- Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace),
- Defenders: Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), John Stones (Manchester City), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United),
- Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool),Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace),
- Forwards: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal),Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
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