While several of England’s more experienced stars were sweating on their places in Gareth Southgate’s squad last month, Eberechi Eze was giving something back to the community that helped to raise him.
The Crystal Palace midfielder set up the Eze Invitational tournament last year in an attempt to inspire young players at a grassroots level, and provided new boots, jerk chicken and ice-cream for more than 100 players who took part at the end of May in south London.
Eze is one of 12 England players selected for this summer’s European Championships who are playing in their first major tournament, with stalwarts including Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish all overlooked due to either injury or loss of form.
The new additions include Kobbie Mainoo – the 19-year-old midfielder who burst on to the scene this season playing for an otherwise underwhelming Manchester United side – and Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, 22, fresh from scoring 27 goals in his first season for the Blues.
As doubts swirl about Southgate’s future, after he said it was pretty much win or bust for him in Germany, it was the England manager’s decision to pick four players from his own former team, Crystal Palace – the highest proportion from any one club – that really caught the eye. Eze, Dean Henderson, Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton are all potentially set to play crucial roles for their country over the next few weeks, despite their lack of experience at international level.
“In the past, Gareth has stayed loyal to players who perhaps haven’t had the best of seasons,” said Les Ferdinand, the former England striker who gave Eze, 25, his first professional contract in 2016 when he was director of football at Queens Park Rangers. “But England is about picking the best on form. Eze and Wharton were outstanding for Palace at the end of last season and really caught the eye, so they deserve their chance. There have been plenty of examples of players who haven’t been involved much before tournaments but end up being the stars of the show.”
Eze, an attacking midfielder with dazzling skills, found out he had been selected for England’s provisional squad for Euro 2020 just after he had suffered an achilles injury in training that ruled him out for nine months. Now, he has edged out Manchester City’s Grealish for a place in the final 2024 squad.
“Sometimes, as a player, you can think, ‘has my chance gone?’. But he’s shown great strength of character and his ability has shone through,” said Ferdinand.
A mural by artist Mr Meana, celebrating Eze’s England call-up, appeared on the Kirby estate in Bermondsey last week – not far from where Eze was born, in Greenwich, to Nigerian parents.
He grew up playing football with his friends around the back of a local HSS Hire shop, where there was a barbed wire fence that would sometimes burst their ball. “Then, on the other side of the car park, that was where the dogs were, so you had to get good at shooting and passing,” Eze recalled after his first England call-up last year.
Released by Arsenal’s academy at the age of 13, after which he spent a week “crying in my room”, Eze was also deemed not good enough by Fulham and Reading, and Millwall decided not to offer him a contract after two years in their youth team. He was about to accept a part-time job at Tesco when QPR stepped in.
“When you have been rejected on so many occasions, you start to doubt yourself and I think that’s where he probably was at that stage,” said Ferdinand, who describes Eze as one of the best players he has ever worked with. “But he came into our place and [coaches] Chris Ramsey, Andy Impey and Paul Hall put an arm around him and gave him the belief that he has the ability to go all the way to the top.
“That’s what he has done – as Ebs has gone up the levels, he’s just got better and better as a player. A lot of the best players have been rejected somewhere and it just pushes you on to achieve more.”
Guéhi, who is expected to start in central defence in place of Maguire, was born in Ivory Coast and moved to south London when he was one. He grew up a few miles down the road from Eze in Grove Park, where his father remains a minister at a local church. The 23-year-old still lives at home with his three younger sisters and plays the drums in church when the opportunity allows. Like Eze, who launched his own charitable foundation in February and also delivers food bank drops to churches across Lewisham at weekends after starring on the pitch, faith has played a crucial role in Guéhi’s rise to the top.
He started out at local side Cray Wanderers before joining Chelsea’s academy, and was part of the England team, along with Phil Foden, that won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017. He was snapped up by Palace in 2021.
Wharton turned 20 just a few days after completing his transfer to Palace this year from Blackburn Rovers. The midfielder is being tipped to force his way into Southgate’s team after a remarkable rise.
“There is a really good culture among the Palace squad and that made it easy for Adam to settle in and adapt,” said his agent, James Featherstone. “He’s the sort of player that, if you give him an opportunity, he will take it.”
Southgate’s preference for youth over experience at this tournament hints that perhaps he is looking towards the next World Cup, in 2026. Ferdinand is confident the new generation can seize their moment. “I’m sure that Ebs and the other new lads will thrive if they get a chance.”
