THE England squad have kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign with the hope of scooping the trophy.
However, fans have been left wondering why Manchester United centreback Harry Maguire is not on Gareth Southgate’s team.
Why is Harry Maguire not in the England squad at Euro 2024?
On June 6, 2024, it was revealed that Harry Maguire would not be part of England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Boss Gareth Southgate made the difficult decision to cut the popular centreback from his team following injury earlier in the year.
The Manchester United star has made 63 appearances for England, and was “absolutely gutted” to learn he wouldn’t be taking part in the famous footy tournament.
Southgate’s decision came after Maguire suffered a muscle issue which struck during training with the Red Devils in April 2024.
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The injury left the defender sidelined, and meant he also missed United’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May 2024.
The defender was then in a race against time to recover from the calf injury that had stopped him from joining in the England squad’s group training.
Sadly, he was unable to heal in time, and was dropped from the Euro 2024 team.
Maguire joined a list of seven players who were cut from Southgate’s squad for the Euros.
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Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Curtis Jones were all told they hadn’t made the squad.
James Trafford also failed to make the final cut for the tournament in Germany, alongside Jarrell Quansah and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Maguire took to Instagram to break his silence after missing out on England’s squad for the tournament in Germany.
He wrote: “I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer.
“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.
If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys.
Harry Maguire
“For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me.
“If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys.
“Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season.”
Who is playing in the centreback position at Euro 2024?
Marc Guehi has stepped in to replace Maguire as England’s centreback.
The Crystal Palace star has made 12 appearances so far for the Three Lions.
Former footballer Gary Cahill told The Sun he believes Guehi is ready to show his worth at the Euros.
The ex-Chelsea ace, who played at three major tournaments for England, told The SunSport: “No Maguire is a massive blow for the country.
“He’s experienced in a position we haven’t really got much experience at the moment.
“Every England career starts from somewhere.
“The opportunity arises when sometimes something unfortunate happens to others.
“I’d go with Guehi. Gareth has relied on him a little bit. I get the feeling that Gareth’s confident with him.”
How to watch England play in Euro 2024
Euro 2024 is being shown live on BBC and ITV this summer.
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You can live stream all the action from the BBC iPlayer or the ITVX app, both of which are available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Games are FREE to watch, so long as you have a valid TV licence.
What Southgate said about axed England stars
WHAT Gareth Southgate said about his axed England stars after confirming his 26-man England squad for Euro 2024.
Harry Maguire
“The decision on Harry [Maguire] is totally about his physical condition and his recovery from the injury. There is no other reason as he is one of our strongest centre-backs.
“Harry has made some progress, but it’s been complicated and we wouldn’t have had him in the group stages. There were too many hurdles to get through without being clear where we might get to.
“Knowing we haven’t got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline, we need players who are fit and ready to go from the start.
“It was a really difficult call, you know how I feel about Harry, what he’s done for England and for me as a manager. “
Jack Grealish
“I have just delivered a really difficult conversation to a lad who is devastated.
“I think the world of him as a kid.“It certainly doesn’t get any easier.
“You put yourself in the shoes of a player, a parent. You understand that for these players this is a devastating moment.
“We knew we had a couple of really difficult days coming up.”
James Maddison
“Madders [Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
“They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
“We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with.
“It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
Jarrad Branthwaite
“It’s a bit early for Jarrad [Branthwaite]. He has had a fabulous season, it was good to get him on the pitch the other night.
“But of course, in an ideal world, you’d like that balance of left-footers. For him to be in ahead of the others, I don’t think it would have been the right call at this stage.”
Jarell Quansah
“Jarell Quansah has stayed with us. He’s not had the experience of an England international at Wembley. It’ll be great for him to be us for the game.
“Hopefully we’re not needing to call anyone else in.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
