With just 8 days until Euro 2024 officially kicks off in Germany, England manager Gareth Southgate has surprised fans by removing Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison from the squad for the upcoming tournament.
It’s a decision that has caused a stir amongst fans and pundits given Maddison’s productive season with Spurs in the Premier League. The creative midfielder, who joined Tottenham from Leicester City on a five year contract in June 2023, made 30 appearances for his club this season despite battling against an ankle injury. He also managed 4 goals and 9 assists proving to be a key player in Tottenham’s squad due to his vision and playmaking skills.
Maddison has been capped 7 times by England with his debut being on 14th November 2019 when he replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 56th minute in England’s UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Montenegro. A game that they went on to win 7-0. He was absent from the England squad for 3 years from that point but was named in Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he failed to make an appearance. Fast forward to 2023 and Maddison made his first senior start for England, featuring in the teams Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine. However, after being cut from Southgate’s provisional squad, the Spurs midfielder will again not feature at a major tournament for his country.
In a public statement on Twitter, Maddison expressed his disappointment in missing out on the Euros.
“Devastated doesn’t quite cut it. 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 whole 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, unbelievable group and lads that I literally call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.“
Devastated doesn’t quite cut it. 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… pic.twitter.com/LwhIhCPDxS
— James Maddison (@Madders10) June 6, 2024
England manager Gareth Southgate faces the challenge of trimming his provisional 33-man squad to 26 players before the June 7 deadline with James Maddision and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones being the first two to be cut.
The battle between players for midfield positions in the England squad is highly competitive. Established players such as Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are virtually guaranteed starting positions, while Declan Rice’s defensive capabilities makes him an asset Southgate won’t want to dispose of. There are also emerging talents like Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze who have earned call-ups due to impressive seasons with Chelsea and Crystal Palace, making it even more challenging for Maddison to have secured a spot.
Maddison’s absence from the squad has suprised some people since the news broke that he left the England camp on Thursday morning. His creativity and ability to unlock defences could have proved to be a useful tool in England’s game but Southgate seems confident with relying on the likes of Bellingham and Foden to provide England’s attacking threat from the midfield.
Managers will always be scrutinised for their decisions when expectations aren’t met but there has been some positive backing of Southgate’s squad selection up to this point. The inclusion of Palmer and Eze suggests the manager has a long-term vision and willing to give these young talents valuable experience on the big stage in preparation for the 2026 World Cup and beyond.
With James Maddison and Curtis Jones having left England’s camp, that leaves five more players to be booted from the provisional squad before tomorrow’s deadline. Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah is also expected to be cut which means three others face a nervous wait.
Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Lewis Dunk are injury concerns and so must prove their fitness prior to the deadline. It could well be that we see another big name exit given that Harry Kane is all but guaranteed a start if fit and there are already several other strikers named in the squad. Brentford’s Ivan Toney was on fine form after his return to football earlier this year, finding the net four times in his first five games, but finished the season without Premier League goal since February. Could he miss out over Ollie Watkins? His performance on Friday against Iceland could decide his fate on that matter.
Along with a goalkeeper, which could well be James Trafford, Marc Guéhi and Jarrod Bowen, who has competition against Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer for his position, could be on the plane home come Saturday.
All countries competing in Euro 2024 must submit their final 26-man squads for the tournament by midnight on Friday 7th June.
With England in action against Iceland on Friday evening, Gareth Southgate has a lot of work ahead of him to finalise the squad he’ll be taking to Germany next week.
England’s Euro 2024 campaign gets underway against Serbia on Saturday 16th June, followed by matches against Denmark and Slovenia. WhichBookie will be covering all matches and providing full previews and predictions for Euro 2024 throughout the tournament.
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