England’s Euro 2024 squad leaves a few questions unanswered

England has announced their squad for the European Championships to be held in 2024. The Three Lions have already ensured qualification for next year’s championship in Germany.

However, they will still want to do well in their next two matches to be high on confidence. A few of Gareth Southgate’s selections raised a few eyebrows nevertheless.

England Has great depth in midfield and attack

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The English have exceptional depth in their midfield and attack. Quite a few players like captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Jordan Henderson and Phil Foden select themselves. Then there is another playmaker in James Maddison, who is injured at the moment, but has had an exceptional season. 

Youngsters like Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher are also there, both of whom have had good seasons for their respective clubs. 

Their defence is not quite as strong as their midfield and attack, but still, they have defenders like Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, who are experienced enough at international level.

Some questionable omissions are there

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While all the above is fine, there are at least a couple of players who were left out of the squad quite unfairly. One of them is Raheem Sterling, who proved his worth on the very day the squad was announced, by playing really well and scoring once in Chelsea’s 4-4 draw with Manchester City. 

Sterling has been one of the stand-out players in Chelsea’s ordinary season so far, as the club shows signs of improvement now. Picking Marcus Rashford ahead of Sterling is a decision that will not go down well with a lot of football lovers. Rashford has performed better in England colours than he has for his club in the recent past, but he does not warrant a place in the squad ahead of Sterling on his current form.

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Then there is Kalvin Phillips, who has been a fringe player at Manchester City but keeps getting selected for the Three Lions. Compare that with the performance of someone like James Ward-Prowse, who has made 16 appearances for West Ham United this season against Phillips’ eight.

Ward-Prowse probably should have come into the squad ahead of Phillips. Southgate will sincerely hope that those decisions do not come back to haunt him.