England manager Gareth Southgate has named his provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024 with call-ups for Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Kobbie Mainoo, but there was no place for Marcus Rashford or Jordan Henderson.
Southgate included five uncapped players in total — Liverpool duo Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah, Everton‘s Jarrad Branthwaite, Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford — as part of an expanded group strong in attacking talent.
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Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, and Ollie Watkins were rewarded for fine seasons with Chelsea, Newcastle and Aston Villa, respectively, while Brentford forward Ivan Toney was also included despite only returning from an eight-month suspension for breaching Football Association betting rules in January.
Jack Grealish was selected despite starting just 10 league games in Manchester City‘s title-winning campaign while Mainoo’s dramatic elevation continues having only made his full league debut for United against Everton in November.
Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw has been included despite being sidelined since February with a muscle injury.
UEFA’s deadline for final squad submissions is midnight on June 7, when Southgate will have to select 26 players from Thursday’s list to take to Germany.
Rashford is the highest-profile omission, having been a squad member at England’s past four tournaments dating back to Euro 2016.
The 26-year-old missed a penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley and was a substitute when Southgate’s side were knocked out of the 2022 Qatar World Cup by France at the quarterfinal stage.
However, he has scored just seven goals in 33 league appearances this season as United recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish by ending in eighth place.
Southgate was heavily criticised for continuing to select Henderson after the midfielder left Liverpool last summer to join Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, a country whose human right record has been widely condemned.
Henderson joined Ajax in January, in part in a bid to keep alive his chances of staying part of Southgate squad but he has been left out along with Kalvin Phillips, who joined West Ham on loan from City in January with the same aim.
England face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle on June 3 before taking on Iceland at Wembley four days later.
Preliminary England squad for Euro 2024:
Goalkeepers: James Trafford, Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale, Jordan Pickford
Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarrell Quansah, Luke Shaw, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Kieran Trippier
Midfielders: Adam Wharton, Kobbie Mainoo, Curtis Jones, Conor Gallagher, Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Forwards: Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, James Maddison, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Jack Grealish