Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire were the biggest names to be cut from England’s squad as manager Gareth Southgate named his final 26-man selection for the European Championship on Thursday.
Manchester City forward Grealish has paid the price for a lackluster season, which saw him score just three goals and fail to hold down a regular starting place for the Premier League champion. Tottenham playmaker James Maddison was also cut.
“The fact is, we have got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons,” Southgate said.
Man United defender Maguire, meanwhile, failed to prove his fitness after sustaining a calf injury in training last month.
“I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer,” Maguire said in a post on X. “Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted.”
While Maguire’s hopes of playing at a third major international tournament were ended, his United teammate Luke Shaw was selected by Southgate despite being sidelined with a muscle injury since February.
“The decision on Harry is totally about his physical condition,” Southgate said. “There is no other reason — he is obviously one of our strongest center backs.”
Southgate said Shaw was a “gamble” worth taking.
The Euros are being staged in Germany and start on June 14.
Southgate has narrowed down his final squad from his provisional 33-man selection, which already had big-name omissions in the form of Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips and Mason Mount.
England’s last warmup game is against Iceland on Friday, a day before the deadline for the final squad to be confirmed.
Southgate has turned to a number of players who seemed unlikely to be in the frame for the tournament at the start of the season.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is in after scoring 27 goals in his debut season since moving from City last year.
Kobbie Mainoo made the squad after an outstanding breakthrough campaign for United, which ended with his decisive goal in his team’s FA Cup final win over City.
Crystal Palace, which had been threatened with relegation before an upturn in form late in the season, has more players in the squad than any other team.
The 20-year-old midfielder Adam Wharton was included just five months after joining Palace from second-tier Blackburn. Palace forward Eberechi Eze, defender Marc Guehi and goalkeeper Dean Henderson also made the cut.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is in after serving an eight month ban at the start of the season for breaching gambling rules.
Toney is a penalty specialist, which could be valuable for an England team that missed out on winning the last Euros by losing a penalty shootout to Italy in the final.
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England:
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), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: 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)
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Associated Press)