- Gareth Southgate made several bold selections in his England Euro 2024 squad
- Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole highlighted two players that missed out on the 26
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Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole have identified two players they felt were unfortunate to miss out on England’s 26-man squad for the upcoming European Championships.
The former international teammates appeared together on punditry duties as England faced Iceland at Wembley in their final warm up before the tournament kicks off next Friday.
After naming his provisional squad last month, Gareth Southgate whittled his team down to 26 players, with multiple big names missing out on the final cut.
Harry Maguire had been once again poised to start in the heart of England’s defence at a major tournament but ultimately missed out as he lost his race to recover from a calf injury in time for the finals.
Meanwhile Southgate made multiple notable omissions with the likes of James Maddison, Jack Grealish and Jarrad Branthwaite all missing out on a spot of the plane.
Speaking on the selection, the former Chelsea star admitted he was surprised with some of Southgate’s decisions.
‘Maguire has been a stalwart, he’s had an injury. That’s what Gareth’s had to wrestle with.’ Cole said on Channel 4.
‘Grealish coming out of the squad surprised me. He’s been such a focal point for so many years. Gareth thinks other players in his position are performing better.
Meanwhile Rooney praised Southgate but admitted he felt that Branthwaite had earned a place in the squad in Germany following a breakout campaign at Goodison Park.
‘The fans have been crying out for Gareth to make these exciting decisions,’ he insisted.
‘I would have liked to seen Branthwaite in the squad. He’s had an excellent season at Everton.’
Branthwaite was named the Toffees’ Young Player of the Year after impressing for Sean Dyche’s side, netting three Premier League goals from 35 appearances.
The 21-year-old was rewarded for his club form with a senior debut for England on Monday, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.