Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire have been left out of England’s squad for this summer’s European Championship as Gareth Southgate cut seven from his provisional list.
Maguire, who has played at every major tournament under Gareth Southgate, has failed to recover sufficiently from a calf injury in time to make the trip to Germany, while Grealish is the most senior casualty among the other six players culled from a provisional 33-man squad.
Midfielders James Maddison and Curtis Jones both left the camp after being told they had not made the final cut on Wednesday. The inexperienced trio of Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarrell Quansah and James Trafford are the other players to miss out.
Maguire has been a stalwart of England’s defence at each of the past three tournaments and Southgate has been fiercely loyal to the centre-back even during alarming periods of club form.
Your #ThreeLions for #EURO2024! 🦁 pic.twitter.com/klzkNNTafI
— England (@England) June 6, 2024
However, the 31-year-old has not played since April because of injury and Southgate admitted last weekend he was not certain to recover in time for the opening game against Serbia on June 16.
Maguire was also coming back from injury heading into the last Euros and did not feature until the third and final group game against Czech Republic but Southgate has decided against taking a chance on his fitness this time around.
Marc Guehi - one of four Crystal Palace players included in the final squad - would appear to be the frontrunner to partner John Stones at centre-back, with Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez also options.
Grealish, meanwhile, has endured a difficult third season at Manchester City and was an unused substitute in their FA Cup final defeat last month.
The winger came off the bench to set up Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal in the 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina on Monday night, but has been axed in favour of the likes of Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer, all of whom enjoyed fine seasons for their clubs.
Nonetheless, the decision to omit both Grealish and Maguire, coupled with the bold calls to leave Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford out of the initial 33, means Southgate will go into the summer without several stalwarts of previous campaigns.
At the other end of the spectrum, the uncapped pair of Liverpool defender Quansah and Burnley goalkeeper Trafford always looked likely to be cut, while Everton's Branthwaite misses out despite making his debut as a substitute against Bosnia.
The decisions mean that both Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins are included as back-up to Harry Kane, while Adam Wharton is retained after impressing in a midfield cameo on debut at St. James’s Park.
England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Pickford, Ramsdale, Henderson
Defenders: Dunk, Gomez, Guehi, Konsa, Shaw, Stones, Trippier, Walker
Midfielders: Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Eze, Gallagher, Mainoo, Wharton, Rice
Forwards: Bowen, Foden, Gordon, Kane, Palmer, Toney, Watkins, Saka
