Gareth Southgate believes that selecting his England squad for UEFA Euro 2024 was the most “difficult” moment of his managerial career.
Southgate has named a 26-man squad for this summer’s Euros, but James Trafford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, Harry Maguire, Curtis Jones, James Maddison and Jack Grealish were omitted from the selection.
Reflecting upon his selection, Southgate admitted that his decisions weren’t easy to make and described the decision to snub Maddison and Grealish as a painful experience.
“There’s no question it has been one of the most difficult days in the job. We’re a close team and everybody has felt it for the lads who’ve missed out in the last couple of days. It’s a devastating blow for them and they’ve all been amazing in the way they’ve taken it.
“Madders and Jack give us something different but we back our decisions. We’ve been over and over it as staff and we back our rationale. They are both big characters and great to work with so it’s sad we have to deliver that news to them.”
Maguire’s absence is purely down to the fact that he wasn’t fit enough for the group stages with no guarantee of his availability for the knockout stages.
“He wouldn’t have been available for the group stages and there were lots of hurdles to clear before it was clear whether anything further than that would be possible. We don’t have a clear bill of health across the backline and we need players who are fit and ready to go.”
Branthwaite’s omission in Southgate’s words is down to his inexperience at international level but praised the 21 year-old for his season.
“He’s had a fabulous season and it was good to get him on the pitch on Monday. Of course ideally we’d have had a left-footed centre-back but I don’t think it would have been the right call.”
11 members of the squad are going to a major senior international tournament for the first time with Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton amongst the youngest players selected.
Acknowledging his bold decision to take plenty of young players alongside a mix of experienced players, Southgate believes that everyone in the squad are there on merit.
“Some of the young players have done brilliantly to push experienced players out of the squad. They’ve been playing extremely well in the league and we saw some performances on Monday that underlined that.
“We’ve got 11 players who have been to three tournaments or more, with younger players who are playing so well we can’t afford to ignore them. That’s already brought a hunger, a competitiveness.
“The group have got to work together, they’ve got to realise that when we pick teams the subs will be key to us doing well in each match. We need to create those bonds.”
Up front, Southgate has taken three central strikers in Harry Kane, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins but explained that all three players “have different profiles”, although Kane will be the main starter in the line-up but Toney and Watkins offer “tremendous” tactical substitution options.
Southgate however has gambled on left-back, Luke Shaw despite the 28 year-old having not played since he suffered a hamstring injury.
The boss felt that he could “take one gamble” in a strong squad hence his decision to put Shaw in the squad given his technical ability, especially given how he has fared in training.
“The fact he’s a left-footer and gives us different attacking options as well meant it was a situation we wanted to explore. Luke has progressed really well. At the moment we think he could have some involvement in the second group game but he has to keep hitting the markers.”