ENGLAND kick off their Euro 2024 campaign TONIGHT against Serbia.
But one Three Lions regular will be missing the match as he did NOT make Gareth Southgate’s final England squad.
Jack Grealish was the biggest name missing from the 26-man Euro 2024 squad as Southgate named a new-look squad for the tournament earlier this month.
Why is Jack Grealish not in the England squad?
England boss Southgate said that for Grealish, it ultimately came down to his recent club form.
The winger has struggled to consistently break into the Man City team in recent months and Southgate revealed he preferred the likes of Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon as they had been bang in form in the Premier League.
Southgate said: “The fact is we’ve got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons – particularly in the past six months or so.
“We saw some fantastic performances the other night which underlined some of that and in the attacking area of the pitch we’re blessed with a lot of options and they’re all slightly different.”
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.”
He added: “[James 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.
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“It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
What did the players say about Jack Grealish’s omission?
England players were apparently “shocked” by Grealish not making the squad, according to Man City team-mate Kyle Walker.
Walker said: “Shocked because I know what Jack can do. Was I shocked because of the players that he’s [Southgate] brought in? No.
“Because I think they’re all at a great quality and they’ve all had fantastic seasons.
“I think Jack would be the first one to say he could have had a better season.
“I think he’s come out publicly and said he could’ve had a better season. So what does the manager base it on?
“Form or people that he knows and that has had good tournaments or a good season, the season before, .
“You’re here on merit and I believe always it should be like that. That you’re in this team because you’ve played well for your club which then puts you into the England fold.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
