Gareth Southgate will consider informing players missing out on his Euro 2024 squad before the final warm-up game against Iceland on Friday.
The England manager needs to trim his 33-man provisional squad ahead of the Uefa deadline of midnight on Friday, which will mean heartbreak for seven players.
Southgate insists he and his staff have yet to finalise how they will tell players they have missed out and is mindful of delivering bad news in the right way to those who miss out on the tournament in Germany, with the Group C opener against Serbia 12 days away.
Telling some or all of the unlucky ones before the Iceland match is one of the options Southgate is looking at, rather than telling them during the two-hour window between the full-time whistle and the deadline.
Southgate could still call on players who have missed out, should his squad pick up injuries ahead of the tournament starting, with replacements allowed in those circumstances or illness.
Ahead of the 3-0 win over Bosnia on Monday, Southgate suggested the younger or inexperienced players in the squad were with the provisional pool of players for experience.
“We’ve got some young players who I spoke to at the start and said: ‘Look, we don’t know how this is going to play out but let the start point be that this should be a great experience for you. Coming to train with us. The chances are you might not be coming all the way with us,’” he said.
Southgate has also been glowing in his praise for 20-year-old Adam Wharton after his cameo at St James’ Park on debut.
The England manager will have to drop one of his four goalkeepers among the seven. At the tournament itself, Southgate will be allowed to name his whole squad on the matchday teamsheet, with 11 starters and 15 subs allowed. At the last tournament three players had to watch from the stands.
Southgate was part of the 1998 World Cup squad when players were told individually of their squad status, with Paul Gascoigne famously told he was not going to the tournament in France.