Europe Россия Внешние малые острова США Китай Объединённые Арабские Эмираты Корея Индия

The £385m rejects! The incredible England XI left at home by Gareth Southgate, with Jack Grealish and Co showing how strong Three Lions' depth is

5 months ago 30

England get their Euros campaign underway in just over a week and a number of omitted players will feel they did enough to be in Gareth Southgate's squad. 

The Three Lions boss named his 26 chosen players on Thursday after axing seven players from his provisional squad.

The exclusion of Manchester City's Jack Grealish was the most notable, while James Maddison's omission comes as no surprise. 


Several players failed to even make the provisional squad despite some of them having superb seasons for their respective clubs. 

Mail Sport takes you through the alternative England XI that Southgate has not taken to Euro 2024

England will get their Euros campaign underway in just over a week against Serbia

Gareth Southgate named his 26 chosen players on Thursday and left out some big names 

Goalkeeper: Nick Pope

The Newcastle goalkeeper will deem himself to be one of the unlucky ones not involved for England this summer. 

Pope suffered a shoulder injury against Manchester United in December and only returned to action on the last day of the season. 

Right back: Ben White 

Southgate said back in March that the Arsenal defender, 26, had told England he didn't wish to be considered for selection.

White has not played internationally since returning from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar 'for personal reasons' after Southgate's assistant Steve Holland reportedly made a 'barbed comment' at his expense in front of the squad. 

Centre-back: Harry Maguire

Maguire was cut from the provisional squad, hours after Mail Sport revealed doubts over the Manchester United star's fitness. 

The England centre back hasn’t played since April and was expected to miss Friday's final warm-up game versus Iceland. Doubt over his fitness means he misses a tournament for the first time under Southgate. 

Ben White has not played internationally since returning from the 2022 World Cup early 

Harry Maguire was cut from the provisional squad amid doubt over his fitness 

Centre back: Branthwaite

Branthwaite only made his debut for England as a substitute against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night but there has been a lot of clamour for his selection.

Many thought he would be on the plane after Maguire was ruled out, but he has ultimately missed out. 

Left back: Ben Chilwell 

The Chelsea defender was a doubt from the start after suffering a knee injury towards the back end of the season. 

Doubts remain over whether he would have received a call-up even if he was fit after an average season for the Blues. 

Right wing: Jadon Sancho 

The 24-year-old shone towards the end of the season, playing a huge role in Borussia Dortmund's run to the Champions League final. 

But he always had an outside chance of receiving an England call-up having struggled since his move to Manchester United in 2021. 

Jadon Sancho shone in Borussia Dortmund's run to the Champions League final 

Centre midfielder: James Maddison 

Maddison was widely viewed as one of the players at risk of missing out following a largely disappointing second half of the season for Tottenham. 

The 27-year-old left the Three Lions training camp before taking to social media to relay his thoughts - where he suggested he was surprised to be axed. 

Centre midfielder: Mason Mount

The least surprising omission. Mount has struggled for fitness throughout his time at Manchester United. 

The 25-year-old played just 14 Premier League games all season and returned from a calf injury in March. 

jack Grealish (left) and James Maddison (right) were among the big names axed by Southgate

Left wing: Jack Grealish

The Manchester City midfielder was the most surprising play that was axed by Southgate and he has seemingly paid the price for a disappointing campaign with Pep Guardiola's men. 

He scored just three goals in 20 Premier league appearances having struggled for fitness throughout the campaign. 

Striker: Marcus Rashford 

He endured a trying campaign in 2023-24 for Manchester United, with only seven goals and two assists in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag, after a hugely impressive 2022-23. 

Southgate, who has handed Rashford 57 of his 60 international caps, revealed that the decision was a tough one but insisted Rashford's omission was solely down to his performances on the pitch. 

Marcus Rashford endured a trying campaign in 2023-24 for Manchester United and misses out

Striker: Dominic Solanke 

The Bournemouth striker will feel he did everything he could to earn a call-up after an outstanding season for the Cherries. 

He scored 19 Premier League goals in 38 appearances as Andoni Iraola's men comfortably finished midtable. However, Southgate has favoured Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Jarrod Bowen ahead of Solanke. 

Read Entire Article