Official ENGLAND squad

With the deadline being midnight tomorrow, Friday 7th June, with England's first game only on the 16th of June, Southgate was on a time crunch to cut down his squad.

It was a shock to pundits and journalists that England had four goalies in their provisional squad; in most competitions, Pickford and Henderson were to make the squad but to gently ease him into the senior squad in planning for the future.

Curtis Jones, like Brathwaite, has had an abundance of success in the youth section of England and for Liverpool's first team under Jurgen Klopp. However, he left England, and the announcement came out this morning alongside Maddison that they will not be involved in the game against Iceland or the euros squad after playing for England against Bosnia, which seemed to be a lot of players trial run.

Jarrad Brathwaite has sprung into action this year for Everton and is a rising star who got his first cap against Bosnia on Monday but is not in the 26-man squad this time round after winning the under-21 euros last summer. Southgate spoke on “ it is too early for Jarrod. He had a breakout season, and it was good to get him involved. In an ideal world, you would want a left-footer, but picking him ahead of the other is a lot of pressure and was not the right time to be called up. At left back, we are taking a risk with Luke Shaw, a more senior expressed player and a risk worth taking.” This decision, I would say, is risky as Southgate said Luke Shaw is not fit and not ready for the first game against Serbia, and they are only hoping not to guarantee the second group game will fit him. This a risk as Branthwaite is in great form and has been playing for the club all season, whereas Luke Shaw hasn’t. Is this a picking based on Southgate's relationship with Shaw being a senior member and in the hope he could recreate that goal in the final again? I am not sure if Shaw is in total fitness. That would be amazing, but I would not have risked it in a significant tournament in which England, by the bookers, is most likely to win or should win.

Jarell Quansah will be part of the England squad facing Iceland, though not part of the Euros squad. This could be due to Shaw and Dunk not being at full fitness and, therefore, not being used or because Garath might want to give him his first England cap. Only time will tell on this one.

It was a great shock that Maddison and Grealish were not in the squad as Jack Grealish has been part of the last two tournament squads, but it's due to both having poor performances this season.

In a post, England confirmed this morning before the official team sheet was released that Maddson and Curtis Jones had left the England squad training at the Spurs training ground ahead of the Iceland game at Wembley tomorrow.

Maddson's official post on Instagram goes as follows: “Devastated doesn't quite cut it.

I trained well and worked hard all week, but if I'm honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn't at the levels I had set, which gave Gareth a decision to make. I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26-man squad as I feel I bring something different & had been a mainstay in this qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany, but the manager has made the decision, and I have to respect that.

I'll be back, I have no doubt. Wishing the boys all the luck in the world out in Germany; they are an unbelievable group of lads that I call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.”

To some fans, the lack of Jack Grealish is a surprise; however, his poor season has dramatically impacted the lack of selection. This season, he has only appeared in 20 matches, most coming off the bench, only achieving three goals and one assist. He has also been out with injury, and it's rumoured that the city would not be adverse to a move of their hundred-pound signing in the summer of 2021. however, it was surprising given their Grealish dedication or maybe fear he would have to prove himself to Southgate compared to the other cit players who came early to training even though he was given a week off due to being part of the FA Cup final. Southgate said, “he arrived at the earliest opportunity to try to prove his fitness and show how desperate he was to be part of this squad.” which almost makes you feel sorry for him that he's put so much effort in and has nothing to show for it, but that is football for you.

Southgate spoke on the shocking absence of Grealish and Maddison: “All the players took the news respectfully. Of course, all players will think they should be in, which is why there are top players. They have the self-belief and mindset, but we have some players who have been playing extremely well in the league all season. We. just felt other players had a stronger season, particularly in the last six months.”

Declan Rice spoke on losing “best mates: Maddison and Grealish. “To see them go is not a nice feeling. And they've both just said then, before they went, that they wish us all the best. They are gutted they have been left out of the squad. We are so close as a group, and no one feels bitter about being left out.”

Maguire's absence from the squad was due to a calf injury in an emotional post. “ despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my child. Maybe I pushed myself too hard to try and make it. I am gutted. For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me; if it helps the team as a player, I will support them as a dan- along with the rest of the country. Go and win it, boys” " He has returned to the Manchester United medical team to work on his injury for next season. Southgate, on leaving Maguire out, “Trenth can play in defence, and I think we have nine defenders. It was part of the reason why we couldn't take Maguire because that means we would have had to take an inch, and then the balance wouldn't been right. Harry has made some progress, but it has been complicated; we wouldn't have had him for the group stages. "Continuing his press conference, Southgate asked who could replace Harry Maguire. “Regarding those coming in, there is Lewis Dunk and Marc Guehi. There is also Ezri Konsa, who has an excellent season at Aston Villa. He played him at fullback for some of the recent games, but he also played centre-had for us in March and was outstanding. Joe Gomez can also play in several positions.

It was a big shock that Luke Shaw was picked in the provisional squad, let alone the 26-man squad, after being out for the majority of the second part of the season for the club. Southgate suggests his fitness has improved over the last couple of weeks and is likely to be involved in the second group game; he has had a good volume of work and is operating at good speed”. England is taking a gamble, especially as there is no evidence to believe it can pay off, but he has the experience they need and the left-footer they lack. Shaw is, of course, the only England player to have ever scored in the Euro final with his spectacular goal at Wembley in 2020 within the first 4 minutes.

When looking at leadership and veterans in this squad outside Captain Kane, it is easy to see many players with over 50 caps for their country, including Pickford, Walker, Stones, Rice and Tripper, who captained England at St. James Park on Monday. But they have young leaders like Saka and others who can take responsibility and command a game.

There are some new faces to this squad, including the midfielder Adam Wharton. With Phillips, Henderson and Mount not being at Southgate level of playing expectation, the 20-year-old has got his first senior tournament. Declan Rice spoke on the importance of not putting too much pressure on him and letting him flourish and learn. This is a warning to those fans who, after the Euro final in 2020, batted young players Saka, Ashford and Sancho for making a mistake, but the importance is they were young and needed and were at the peak level in their career.

It is no surprise Eberechi Eze was preferred after his fabulous performance against Bosnia earlier in the week and secured his spot likely from that game. It was shown that he could offer something different to other options Southgate had at his disposal. This makes four Crystal Palace players in the squad the most from any club.

Antony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen were selected over the likes of Grealish, who have had a joyous, successful season for the club. It was no shock that Cole Palmer is going to his first senior tournament after his record-scoring season, being named the first Chelsea Premier League player of the month since Eden Hazard. He has been voted both player's play and fans’ choice of the season at Chelsea and is still maintaining his 100% penalty-taking record this season. Palmer is perfect for taking one of the five possible penalties in a shoot-out, and he is experienced at taking them for club and country in intense moments of a game and a perfect backup to Harry Kane if he is not on the pitch to take it.

 Teenager Kobbie Mainoo, who made his international debut in March, has been a young player flung into the spotlight this half of the season with the likes of Toney and Watkins as back-ups to Kane if anything were to happen to England captain and first-choice goal scorer.

Interestingly, England can make late replacements to their squad until their first game at the euros on June 16 if a player has been injured or falls sick, while goalkeepers can be changed throughout the tournament as there are fewer of those in the squad to pick from.

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).

Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).

Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).