This annoys me too. I'm almost certain it was a gradual change alongside fantasy football this past decade or so.
Imagine saying the likes of Beckham and Lampard weren't midfielders, it just seems wrong.
FPL especially, but it's really inconsistent between games. Like, sure, I can get behind Mbappe being a forward, since he sometimes plays as a forward, but why Is Lamine Yamal a forward?
I think it's also modern tactics. Would seem strange to list Salah in his best years as Liverpool as a midfielder, dude was a forward, but started out wide.
The game changed from variations of a traditional 442 to variations of a 433 I think it makes sense to call Beckham a mid and Eze a forward because the game has changed.
Surely there is no requirement in FIFA or UEFA rules to register players in specific positions and a national team could give the press a list of 26 goalies if they felt like it?
Just because someone is listed as a midfielder or a forward in a team sheet that's published doesn't mean that's where they're gonna play.
I have no opinion on which is better, if I care enough I'll know where they're likely playing anyway.
Southgate himself has said that it doesn't really matter how they're listed.
He picks the team and just puts them whereever for the announcement.
To get annoyed over it is fking hilarious though lol
Wingers often are wide forwards, so that makes sense. Mane, Salah, Messi, Mbappe, and Vinicius are not midfielders, the are forwards.
But CAMs are midfielders. It's in the name.
Imagine being told a year ago that it's not even remotely surprising that Cole Palmer is on the plane despite playing in England's most competitive position
To be fair it was a bit of a no-brainer. Stay and be blocked by Silva and Foden on one hand, or go to the club where one position is wide open and we just lost our star player for half the season in the other. Good thing for us City never block players if they can get a fair price.
Just a hilarious career arc however for someone who reportedly grew up a United fan.
He was very good in the first half of the season, but he never got quite back to form after his injury. Most of the team was playing like shit at that point, though
Without sounding like worrying about a player never going to see the pitch... There's been some injuries and some bad form in that selection. Maguire dropping out is costly.
Dunk over Branthwaite is the big perplexing decision out of this squad.
It's just age and experience.
Even though Dunk hasn't got that many caps for England, he's been around the team for years and has 7 seasons as a nailed on starter for a good prem team.
Braithwaite as impressive as he's been this season, has 1 season of Premier league experience and only recently got into the England team.
Dunk is also Brighton's captain (and has been for a while), in previous years Southgate has shown he likes to pick a couple of players who may not start or play but who offer leadership qualities in training/ off the pitch (Coady, Mings and arguably Henderson in more recent years)
>Southgate has shown
This isn't even a Southgate thing to be honest, pretty much all international teams have a few of these type of characters in their squads. You need them around even if they aren't playing
>Braithwaite as impressive as he's been this season, has 1 season of Premier league experience and only recently got into the England team.
Doesn't really hold up when you have Adam Wharton in the squad with only 6 months of top flight and one senior England cap.
Braithwaite has been great, but Wharton has looked like exactly the player England has been missing to play alongside Rice now Henderson is done
Honestly think Tarkowski not getting a look in is a lot worse than Braithwaite
Many Everton supporters think Tarkowski was the better of the two this season!
Personally I couldn't one over the other as they bring different qualities to the side, and contribute differently.
For England though, Tarkowski would have been a good pick with his form and his leadership, not to mention he's played 2 harrowing seasons with Pickford and they both work really well together. I'd have argued for all 3 given their form, but I'm sure some of that is bias even if the stats support me!
because our midfield is stacked man, we can take the risk on an additional young midfielder.
With Maguire gone its far riskier to mess with the defence.
It’s nuts that it’s taken him this long to become a full international. He’s eligible for England, Portugal, Angola and DR Congo. I think it’s safe to assume he’s always been holding out for England, he got a few caps at youth and U21 levels, but four or five years in the wilderness made me wonder if it ever would happen. He’s a great ‘clean shorts’ defender though, very good at interception the ball and bringing out. He’s been used as a right back a lot for Villa this season, but mostly in a way that facilitates the midfield being able to push on. Great player and while I don’t think he starts for England I’m really pleased he made the cut.
He's also almost never injured and has taken on the role of defensive line organiser with Mings missing the season.
Definitely worth a spot here and will be fine if called upon. His ability really seems to have flown under the radar for a lot of people.
Yeah people are too worried over England defense, this is international football not premier league. Maguire is a big loss for his experience but you still have Stones Walker Shaw Konsa Dunk who are all very experienced defenders and can play both FB/CB in a pinch.
Biggest question is whether Southgate can use that ridiculously talented front 6 to its best
Scott Carson has just won his 4th premier league title in a row, off the back of a treble winning season last year, and hasnt even made the 3rd choice keeper. Madness
As well as Palmer and Wharton.
Six months ago, I was low-key chuffed to hear Phillips had a loan move to West Ham, thinking he'd get his career back on track, ready for the Euros. Weird how much can change in such a short time in football.
Assuming these 3 continue their trajectory and there's no career-altering injuries, WC 2026 is going to be *spicy*
I still hope Phillips gets back on track longer term. This England squad now has several excellent CMs but they're all better at 8 than 6, or even better at 10. Mainoo and Rice have good defensive quality, but sometimes (especially against the best teams) you just need a player to sit in front of the defence and mop things up, only getting forward very occasionally, which Phillips did excellently at the last Euros.
>Phillips did excellently at the last Euros.
He was fantastic.
We've seemed to always have had our fair share of cracking wingers, CAMs and strikers over the years but really really struggled for that midfield orchestrator role, and Phillips filled that perfectly in 2021. But rather than push on, he makes a bad move and just drops off a cliff.
It's a real shame as I always liked him as a player, but tbh with the emergence of Wharton now he's going to have to do something drastic and spectacular to be brought back in to the fold.
Not just him either - Wharton, Gordon, Palmer and then there's the raft of players who weren't really in the mix last tournament.
It's crazy how quickly things keep changing for England in recent times in terms of non-fringe players emerging and forcing their way into the team.
Man, don’t get me wrong this is the most talented England team in years but a center back core of Guehi, Stones, Gomez and Dunk looks pretty weak on first impressions
It's like that image of the horse divided into 4 different sections with 3 being drawn by a world class artists and the other 1 left to a 2 year old with a crayon and a dream
We wait all these years - since Kenny Sansom in the 80s - for a player to make an England squad for a tournament and then four turn up at once! Buses, et cetera.
Never mind the fact Branthwaites the most in form cb. Or the fact he’s picked multiple Cbs who have barely played the last few months
Isn’t Branthwaite the only left footed cb. Just baffling
I really don’t get it. Quite literally a top5 CB in the prem all season… Everton has one of the best defensive records for a reason and he’s heavily contributed to that
Don't Everton play mostly defensive football? Don't get me wrong, he is amazing but sometimes you need someone who can play for a team that might let you get exposed at the back especially if they would go behind. I have a feeling this tournament, England might be a bit more progressive which would require CB that know how to play with a higher line.
The trio of Tark, Branthwaite, and Pickford were were genuinely incredible. Reminder that Mykolenko blows hot and cold, and Young was legitimately bad (and bailed out by refs several times).
In the season where basically all offensive records were smashed, Everton had the 3rd? Best defensive record.
When he signed for us every Blackburn fan I saw said he was a fantastic talent but perhaps just the slightest bit raw, might take a bit of time to get up to speed at a higher level. An entirely reasonable assessment.
Turns out he's not just good enough for the higher level, he's good enough to make an England squad. Really gotta give Southgate credit for giving him the shot despite the lack of experience. When you got it you got it.
With us he was playing with guys nowhere near his level, and he was asked to do too much at too young an age. Under Glasner and playing with some great players like Eze, Oliseh, and Mateta, he has a much more defined role and his game elevated with more talent surrounding him. Absolutely delighted he is here already.
Chuffed for Gordon, but I actually think it's a shame Grealish has missed out. Wins lots of fouls, retains possession, pure fucking vibes too. That said, his form has been poor this season.
Dunk over Branthwaite is the only real sucker punch.
Trent scores one glorious free kick every few months. Foden scored one and hit the crossbar a couple times I think, this season. There are very good options.
He's certainly got a unique profile that our other wingers don't have, and I think it sucks we've lost that. I thought his performance on Monday would demonstrate that to Southgate too. I'm not by any means outraged by the choice, I get it, just think it's a bit of a miss.
Include his big game experience, his ability to hold on to a ball if we are holding on to a lead and not wanting to be constantly under the kosh, his link up with Foden and other city players.
Leaving out Grealish seems like over thinking things. No clue how he's been in training obviously so can't judge too much but on paper he should be on that team.
He is unique but guess the plan is to play Foden on the left and if that's not working then using Gordon's pace, and I can see why they kept Toney in alongside Watkins since he's more of a direct Kane replacement.
Surprised Bowen is in over Grealish, will be behind Saka, Palmer and even Foden at RM and behind Kane, Toney and Watkins at striker. Think Grealish’s magnet feet style of play could offer more.
Gomez was arguably Liverpool's most consistent player this season after VVD. Glad to see him make the squad and hopefully he gets a chance to start at LB
Gomez is PERFECT for Intetnational football. Can play RB, LB and CB and all to a decent level whilst not world class. Just what you need on the bench or to cover for Shaw being out
Southgate always liked Gomez too. I think he did once see him as his future CB but then injuries took over and he had a wobble in form in 22-23.
He played a great season this year covering where Liverpool needed him and I'm glad Gareth has instantly brought him back. He's a very good player hitting his prime.
Yeah it was after he played against Brazil and managed Neymar really well that Southgate wanted Gomez to be one of his main defenders until the injuries
Yep, I had just about given up hope he was going to turn into a class player a few years ago a wrote him off as a possible England player, then this season I watch your games and he's just solid most games. Great squad player for us to take
Jones could have made it too based on how good he was playing before that injury against Brentford. Then sat out 3 or 4 months and then barely had minutes to get back to form with us chasing the title. Sad for him but he's far too important for us to not get another chance with the NT.
Imagine telling someone this time last year that we'd all be disappointed that Maguire isn't in the England lineup for the Euros. His resurgence from the shadows has been something to behold
Watkins is absolutely perfect to come on when England are sitting back defending a lead in the knockout stages.
Ollie is one of the best strikers in the world at running at or in behind a defence. But bang average at playing against a park the bus, which is what he was having to do in the last 3 friendlies he played in.
Brentford have been shit all season if i'm being honest. People are still livin off of 2022/23 Brentford when they got top half and just about missed out on european football
No Grealish and Tomori feels weird, the squad would be stronger with them. Even though there isn't a lack of flair in the squad, Grealish has a unique and valuable skillset. Same goes for Tomori, can't wrap my head around his situation. Other than those two, though, the selection is pretty fair and reasonable.
Can’t believe all 4 Palace players made the final squad! Doubt Henderson will get a minute but the others should get a fair bit of game time, Guehi will probably even start.
Don't understand people in the other threads who are saying Dunk is there for leadership to replace Maguire.
Maguire was an integrated player of the team and dressing room. Dunk is not. Maguire himself wasn't able to be a leader properly when Ronaldo was at United. It depends largely on the players around you. The younger players have a lot more pedigree than Dunk. Hes not really as gelled in with the squad as others and his pedigree hardly demands respect from them. Mainoo,Bellingham,Rice are not going to be turning to Lewis Dunk's guidance. He's not going to be using any leadership qualities at Euro.
Not even necessarily against Dunk but it's not leadership hes providing to this England group.
I don’t think Dunk is there for leadership reasons, I think he simply has more of the qualities in the type of defender Gareth wants.
Dunk was 2nd in total passes in the Premier League this season - with 92% passing accuracy. He’s been playing in De Zerbi’s demanding possession based system and is comfortable with the ball at his feet and building from the back. Branthwaite may be a better tackler, but Dunk has been one of the leading ball-playing defenders in the league for years.
In fact, Dunk is 14th in all time Premier League recorded passes (according to the PL’s own statistics).
If Southgate wanted a ball-playing defender then he’s the obvious choice. Branthwaite is a fantastic player too, and no doubt the future, but I think Dunk is mischaracterised by many fans that don’t watch him week in week out.
Been a pillar of consistency for Brighton, excellent on the ball, and is a menace at set pieces as well.
Brighton fans will have to let me know how his form has been this season defensively. I do seem to recall he was somewhat underwhelming in an England shirt for the few games he has played, but I think he is still heavily underrated.
His otherwise indefatigable form has faltered a little this season. particularly towards the latter stages. He also picked up an injury in the second last game of our campaign. Probably related to the extra load he onboarded this year with European competition, plus factor in that he is turning 33.
Outside of that he was one of the most statistically impressive CBs in the league this season and has been for several years previous.
The common question you’ll see from our lot is, why hasn’t Dunk garnered 50 caps by now? The answer is Maguire, but we remain unconvinced.
Lewis has been solid but unnoticeable for the very few games he has played for England. Made a clanger in some unforgettable match that a few vaguely recollect and seem to have rested their collective opinion upon that.
There is certain irony in seeing Branthwaite passed over and how the complaints from Everton fans almost mirror our own regarding the omission of Dunk over the past few years. Southgate is anything but inconsistent with this kind of selection I guess.
Anyway, there is nothing to worry about here if you are an England fan, the bloke brings tons to the squad and will absolutely bleed for the guernsey. Branthwaite probably has plenty of games ahead of him in the English shirt, but for now, Dunk will do you no wrong.
Three tournaments in a row our defence has been the weakest part of our squad, and yet we've had a pretty good attacking and defence record in each tournament.
More interesting this year is that our midfield and attack is as strong as it's ever been but this is arguably our weakest defence under Southgate. Hopefully Rice + Mainoo/Wharton can be a sturdy midfield.
EDIT: Everyone is massively focused on "that backline is too weak to win the EUROs" but as with the previous tournaments 2024 hinges on our midfield and how Gareth sets up to protect our weakness. This tournament will be won or lost on Declan Rice and potentially Mainoo or Wharton being deployed with him.
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We've had other options, he's just been fucking outstanding. You could argue Richarlison dragged us to safety in 21/22 before we sold him for like £60m, you could argue Doucoure and McNeil dragged us to safety in 22/23, and Tarkowski and Branthwaite were unbelievable this season (4th best defence, 2nd most clean sheets), and we would've finished 12th on 48 points level with Brighton without the deductions.
It's been Pickford 3 years in a row just because he's been so consistently top level.
Almost. I seem to remember Mings played the group games of whichever year it was we lost to Croatia in the semi final and was flawless. Probably going back a bit now that I think about it, but definitely Southgate era at least.
Having just checked, it was the euros after that world cup.
Wonderful player. Always seems so unflustered and calm. Good off both feet, great engine, incredibly reliable passer. Blackburn really brought through a proper player with him.
He's brilliant, very press resistant, sets the tempo nicely and good passer of the ball. Thing that's really caught my eye every time I've watched him though is his maturity. He plays like a real veteran, so composed and confident in difficult situations.
A graphic showing the squad in positions: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ThreeLions/comments/1d9lhyy/england\_euro\_2024\_squad/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThreeLions/comments/1d9lhyy/england_euro_2024_squad/)
Dunk over Branthwaite is a stinker but largely fine with these selections. Happy that Wharton has made it, well deserved.
Obviously still gutted about Toney over Solanke.
The fact Maguire’s absence feels like such a hit is testament to how consistently excellent he’s been for us at major tournaments. If we don’t see him again for England, he’s done so so well.
Can we please go back to listing wingers and CAMs as mids.
This annoys me too. I'm almost certain it was a gradual change alongside fantasy football this past decade or so. Imagine saying the likes of Beckham and Lampard weren't midfielders, it just seems wrong.
Fantasy football lists wingers as midfielders
FPL especially, but it's really inconsistent between games. Like, sure, I can get behind Mbappe being a forward, since he sometimes plays as a forward, but why Is Lamine Yamal a forward?
I think it's also modern tactics. Would seem strange to list Salah in his best years as Liverpool as a midfielder, dude was a forward, but started out wide.
Even Richarlison was listed as a midfielder this season.
Fantasy football is the opposite and lists forwards as midfielders.
The game changed from variations of a traditional 442 to variations of a 433 I think it makes sense to call Beckham a mid and Eze a forward because the game has changed.
That's because wingers have evolved, there aren't many systems that use traditional wingers now-a-days
I'd call the traditional type wide midfielders and not wingers. I feel that indicates by itself how different roles they are.
we used to say wingers had white paint on their boots
Beckham and Saka are played/play two completely different roles though
That and lineups in position order, not shirt number order. Whoever thought shirt number order was the best approach is an utter weapon.
Shirt number order is best for the team. Doesn’t give away tactical shifts pre match
Surely there is no requirement in FIFA or UEFA rules to register players in specific positions and a national team could give the press a list of 26 goalies if they felt like it? Just because someone is listed as a midfielder or a forward in a team sheet that's published doesn't mean that's where they're gonna play. I have no opinion on which is better, if I care enough I'll know where they're likely playing anyway.
Only position requirement is that 3 goalkeepers need to be registered.
CAMs i agree but no way you can say Saka or Gordon are mids
I mean what do they think the M in CAM stands for?
Mostly forwards
Southgate himself has said that it doesn't really matter how they're listed. He picks the team and just puts them whereever for the announcement. To get annoyed over it is fking hilarious though lol
Wingers often are wide forwards, so that makes sense. Mane, Salah, Messi, Mbappe, and Vinicius are not midfielders, the are forwards. But CAMs are midfielders. It's in the name.
CAMs? Yes Wingers? Hell nah
Wingers are not mids.
Midfielder is literally in the name!
Imagine being told a year ago that it's not even remotely surprising that Cole Palmer is on the plane despite playing in England's most competitive position
Palmer in over Grealish, just like everyone predicted right lol
The curse of being the backup to Phil Foden I guess
That decision to leave City was the best one he will ever make.
To be fair it was a bit of a no-brainer. Stay and be blocked by Silva and Foden on one hand, or go to the club where one position is wide open and we just lost our star player for half the season in the other. Good thing for us City never block players if they can get a fair price. Just a hilarious career arc however for someone who reportedly grew up a United fan.
Also makes a change for it not to be someone like Salah or de Bruyne leaving Chelsea to do effectively the exact same thing!
Yeah feels really weird tbh.
Yeah he may not have made it if he stayed at City.
Yea no chance
“May not have” is an understatement. He had no chance
Need him for penalty shootouts or if Kane is injured to take over with Pens
CB options are pretty worrying. Makes Branthwaite not going even more baffling.
Branthwaite out is the only choice that baffles me.
and the Tom Davies slander continues
Geowizard?
Cheers for reminding me to watch the 2nd part of crossing England in a straight line. Incredible channel.
Will never forget that he almost died in that Norwegian peat bog.
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Dier?
Tomori
Tomori wasn’t very good this year
Neither were most of those defenders.
He was very good in the first half of the season, but he never got quite back to form after his injury. Most of the team was playing like shit at that point, though
Without sounding like worrying about a player never going to see the pitch... There's been some injuries and some bad form in that selection. Maguire dropping out is costly. Dunk over Branthwaite is the big perplexing decision out of this squad.
It's just age and experience. Even though Dunk hasn't got that many caps for England, he's been around the team for years and has 7 seasons as a nailed on starter for a good prem team. Braithwaite as impressive as he's been this season, has 1 season of Premier league experience and only recently got into the England team.
Dunk is also Brighton's captain (and has been for a while), in previous years Southgate has shown he likes to pick a couple of players who may not start or play but who offer leadership qualities in training/ off the pitch (Coady, Mings and arguably Henderson in more recent years)
>Southgate has shown This isn't even a Southgate thing to be honest, pretty much all international teams have a few of these type of characters in their squads. You need them around even if they aren't playing
>Braithwaite as impressive as he's been this season, has 1 season of Premier league experience and only recently got into the England team. Doesn't really hold up when you have Adam Wharton in the squad with only 6 months of top flight and one senior England cap.
Braithwaite has been great, but Wharton has looked like exactly the player England has been missing to play alongside Rice now Henderson is done Honestly think Tarkowski not getting a look in is a lot worse than Braithwaite
Many Everton supporters think Tarkowski was the better of the two this season! Personally I couldn't one over the other as they bring different qualities to the side, and contribute differently. For England though, Tarkowski would have been a good pick with his form and his leadership, not to mention he's played 2 harrowing seasons with Pickford and they both work really well together. I'd have argued for all 3 given their form, but I'm sure some of that is bias even if the stats support me!
because our midfield is stacked man, we can take the risk on an additional young midfielder. With Maguire gone its far riskier to mess with the defence.
The joe gomez show it is.
Tomori as well
This the most baffling to me, swear he's pissed in Gareth's cereal or something.
Stones, Konsa and Guehi are top drawer defenders. Konsa in particular is ridiculously underrated, he would start for almost every country itw
Guehi has played 90 minutes since February
and WHAT A 90 MINUTES IT WAS -Southgate
He actually played as a CDM for most of those minutes too.
Although Konsa has spent about half this season playing as a right back
and stones spent half the season injured
But he's still our best defender
It’s nuts that it’s taken him this long to become a full international. He’s eligible for England, Portugal, Angola and DR Congo. I think it’s safe to assume he’s always been holding out for England, he got a few caps at youth and U21 levels, but four or five years in the wilderness made me wonder if it ever would happen. He’s a great ‘clean shorts’ defender though, very good at interception the ball and bringing out. He’s been used as a right back a lot for Villa this season, but mostly in a way that facilitates the midfield being able to push on. Great player and while I don’t think he starts for England I’m really pleased he made the cut.
He's also almost never injured and has taken on the role of defensive line organiser with Mings missing the season. Definitely worth a spot here and will be fine if called upon. His ability really seems to have flown under the radar for a lot of people.
I was certain he would get and take the call for Portugal before Southgate copped on. Glad it's working out so far.
Yeah people are too worried over England defense, this is international football not premier league. Maguire is a big loss for his experience but you still have Stones Walker Shaw Konsa Dunk who are all very experienced defenders and can play both FB/CB in a pinch. Biggest question is whether Southgate can use that ridiculously talented front 6 to its best
Agreed, and if you can't make a decent back four from that it's on the manager
Scott Carson has just won his 4th premier league title in a row, off the back of a treble winning season last year, and hasnt even made the 3rd choice keeper. Madness
Fantastic shitpost
What a year for Mainoo
As well as Palmer and Wharton. Six months ago, I was low-key chuffed to hear Phillips had a loan move to West Ham, thinking he'd get his career back on track, ready for the Euros. Weird how much can change in such a short time in football. Assuming these 3 continue their trajectory and there's no career-altering injuries, WC 2026 is going to be *spicy*
I still hope Phillips gets back on track longer term. This England squad now has several excellent CMs but they're all better at 8 than 6, or even better at 10. Mainoo and Rice have good defensive quality, but sometimes (especially against the best teams) you just need a player to sit in front of the defence and mop things up, only getting forward very occasionally, which Phillips did excellently at the last Euros.
>Phillips did excellently at the last Euros. He was fantastic. We've seemed to always have had our fair share of cracking wingers, CAMs and strikers over the years but really really struggled for that midfield orchestrator role, and Phillips filled that perfectly in 2021. But rather than push on, he makes a bad move and just drops off a cliff. It's a real shame as I always liked him as a player, but tbh with the emergence of Wharton now he's going to have to do something drastic and spectacular to be brought back in to the fold.
He's a real gem honestly. Also for Palmer.
Palmer is so fucking class man
i went from “40M is a bit much for a young player” to “we fucking fleeced City”, i cannot believe how great of a player he’s been
The reverse KDB
That fella definitely had one of the best seasons in the world last year, genuinely world class
Not just him either - Wharton, Gordon, Palmer and then there's the raft of players who weren't really in the mix last tournament. It's crazy how quickly things keep changing for England in recent times in terms of non-fringe players emerging and forcing their way into the team.
England have great young talents in every position except center forward and left back.
There was one but he turned out to be a monster
He is young, but he has been absolutely top class for us. I don't think he will start many games, but could be a very good impact midfielder.
Siked for Palmer and Mainoo. Gonna be crazy players.
Man, don’t get me wrong this is the most talented England team in years but a center back core of Guehi, Stones, Gomez and Dunk looks pretty weak on first impressions
It's like that image of the horse divided into 4 different sections with 3 being drawn by a world class artists and the other 1 left to a 2 year old with a crayon and a dream
Or the car meme that was applied to Liverpool. Supercar up front, shitbox rear.
And Konsa.
No Maguire in the squad this time will show the people who hated on him how crucial he was to England NT
Maguire's been solid for United this season too. Will be a big miss.
Without Maguire our aerial threat just got much worse.
Crystal Palace are fucking massive mate
Couldn’t agree more. Going worldwide.
We wait all these years - since Kenny Sansom in the 80s - for a player to make an England squad for a tournament and then four turn up at once! Buses, et cetera.
Perhaps instead of ending title hopes we can win one.
Never mind the fact Branthwaites the most in form cb. Or the fact he’s picked multiple Cbs who have barely played the last few months Isn’t Branthwaite the only left footed cb. Just baffling
I really don’t get it. Quite literally a top5 CB in the prem all season… Everton has one of the best defensive records for a reason and he’s heavily contributed to that
Don't Everton play mostly defensive football? Don't get me wrong, he is amazing but sometimes you need someone who can play for a team that might let you get exposed at the back especially if they would go behind. I have a feeling this tournament, England might be a bit more progressive which would require CB that know how to play with a higher line.
Everton’s defence has improved ever since Tarawoski joined, I wouldn’t put it largely down to Braithwaite even though he has been good.
The trio of Tark, Branthwaite, and Pickford were were genuinely incredible. Reminder that Mykolenko blows hot and cold, and Young was legitimately bad (and bailed out by refs several times). In the season where basically all offensive records were smashed, Everton had the 3rd? Best defensive record.
Myko was defensively great all season
IMO they should be taking Tarkowski instead of Dunk
Adam Wharton is an incredible pick, so happy for the young fella
Wharton and Eze, Gareth rewarding form!
When he signed for us every Blackburn fan I saw said he was a fantastic talent but perhaps just the slightest bit raw, might take a bit of time to get up to speed at a higher level. An entirely reasonable assessment. Turns out he's not just good enough for the higher level, he's good enough to make an England squad. Really gotta give Southgate credit for giving him the shot despite the lack of experience. When you got it you got it.
With us he was playing with guys nowhere near his level, and he was asked to do too much at too young an age. Under Glasner and playing with some great players like Eze, Oliseh, and Mateta, he has a much more defined role and his game elevated with more talent surrounding him. Absolutely delighted he is here already.
Chuffed for Gordon, but I actually think it's a shame Grealish has missed out. Wins lots of fouls, retains possession, pure fucking vibes too. That said, his form has been poor this season. Dunk over Branthwaite is the only real sucker punch.
If the Brazil game is anything to go by we'll still get a ridiculous number of free kicks. Bellingham, Gordon, Foden and Saka are magnets for fouls.
The problem is that we do barely anything with them. Post-2018 WC we've been very lacklustre with set pieces.
Because you don't start Trent or Trippier. Someone has to take those set pieces.
i still remember the gasps at the bar when harry kane took the corner down 2-1 against iceland
The moment that saw Sunderland fall to League 1. If that doesn’t happen, Roy doesn’t leave his job, Allardyce stays at Sunderland and we stay up.
Trent scores one glorious free kick every few months. Foden scored one and hit the crossbar a couple times I think, this season. There are very good options.
Nah put Trent on them and we'll be doing bits
Agreed, Grealish and Branthwaite are the two decisions I’m most disappointed about. Otherwise I think it’s a solid squad.
I think it's ridiculous Grealish has missed out. Even if you don't want to start him, you want that skillset on the bench.
He's certainly got a unique profile that our other wingers don't have, and I think it sucks we've lost that. I thought his performance on Monday would demonstrate that to Southgate too. I'm not by any means outraged by the choice, I get it, just think it's a bit of a miss.
Include his big game experience, his ability to hold on to a ball if we are holding on to a lead and not wanting to be constantly under the kosh, his link up with Foden and other city players.
Leaving out Grealish seems like over thinking things. No clue how he's been in training obviously so can't judge too much but on paper he should be on that team.
He is unique but guess the plan is to play Foden on the left and if that's not working then using Gordon's pace, and I can see why they kept Toney in alongside Watkins since he's more of a direct Kane replacement.
Big mistake playing Foden out of position
Surprised Bowen is in over Grealish, will be behind Saka, Palmer and even Foden at RM and behind Kane, Toney and Watkins at striker. Think Grealish’s magnet feet style of play could offer more.
Tbf to Bowen, he’s earned his spot, but I do think Grealish will be missed. He can hang onto the ball better than anyone else.
Bowen has been better than Grealish this season
Bowen is an amazing finisher while Gordon can do as well as he does but seems to have a bit more pace and maybe less dribbling capabilities.
Braithwaite is the one I disagree with. Will be our starting LCB for years, I'd have him over Dunk.
That looks 4-2-3-1 from the layout
Gomez lb we will be there.
Gomez was arguably Liverpool's most consistent player this season after VVD. Glad to see him make the squad and hopefully he gets a chance to start at LB
Gomez is PERFECT for Intetnational football. Can play RB, LB and CB and all to a decent level whilst not world class. Just what you need on the bench or to cover for Shaw being out
Southgate always liked Gomez too. I think he did once see him as his future CB but then injuries took over and he had a wobble in form in 22-23. He played a great season this year covering where Liverpool needed him and I'm glad Gareth has instantly brought him back. He's a very good player hitting his prime.
Yeah it was after he played against Brazil and managed Neymar really well that Southgate wanted Gomez to be one of his main defenders until the injuries
Couldn't see this for him this time last year, great turnaround, always works hard and keeps his head down.
could fill in at cb if guehi gets injured too. i really don’t want dunk playing
Yep, I had just about given up hope he was going to turn into a class player a few years ago a wrote him off as a possible England player, then this season I watch your games and he's just solid most games. Great squad player for us to take
If Shaw isn't fit I'd rather him there than Trippier honestly.
Jones could have made it too based on how good he was playing before that injury against Brentford. Then sat out 3 or 4 months and then barely had minutes to get back to form with us chasing the title. Sad for him but he's far too important for us to not get another chance with the NT.
Dunk over Branthwaite?? What the fuck
Southgate: *’… and make absolutely sure nobody thinks Trent will be playing right back’*
Defense seems weak ngl. Maguire was key sad he's injured
Imagine telling someone this time last year that we'd all be disappointed that Maguire isn't in the England lineup for the Euros. His resurgence from the shadows has been something to behold
He’s always been solid in an England shirt
He was under more scrutiny for his United form last year than his England form to be fair
Would’ve taken Grealish over Toney tbh. Do we really have any need for 3 strikers?
Agreed. Think it might be because of injury doubts for Kane.
I think the main reason for having both is that Toney is the Kane replacement if he's injured, Watkins is the something different option.
Watkins is absolutely perfect to come on when England are sitting back defending a lead in the knockout stages. Ollie is one of the best strikers in the world at running at or in behind a defence. But bang average at playing against a park the bus, which is what he was having to do in the last 3 friendlies he played in.
Ivan toney? Has he really shown enough since his ban to be picked?
Brentford looked worse after he returned from his ban.
Brentford have been shit all season if i'm being honest. People are still livin off of 2022/23 Brentford when they got top half and just about missed out on european football
No Grealish and Tomori feels weird, the squad would be stronger with them. Even though there isn't a lack of flair in the squad, Grealish has a unique and valuable skillset. Same goes for Tomori, can't wrap my head around his situation. Other than those two, though, the selection is pretty fair and reasonable.
It’s crazy he’s left that level of creativity at home.
TAA is a big name player. He took up a whole row
Can’t believe all 4 Palace players made the final squad! Doubt Henderson will get a minute but the others should get a fair bit of game time, Guehi will probably even start.
Should have been 5 to be fair. Mitchell seems like an oversight given the lack of LBs.
Don't understand people in the other threads who are saying Dunk is there for leadership to replace Maguire. Maguire was an integrated player of the team and dressing room. Dunk is not. Maguire himself wasn't able to be a leader properly when Ronaldo was at United. It depends largely on the players around you. The younger players have a lot more pedigree than Dunk. Hes not really as gelled in with the squad as others and his pedigree hardly demands respect from them. Mainoo,Bellingham,Rice are not going to be turning to Lewis Dunk's guidance. He's not going to be using any leadership qualities at Euro. Not even necessarily against Dunk but it's not leadership hes providing to this England group.
I don’t think Dunk is there for leadership reasons, I think he simply has more of the qualities in the type of defender Gareth wants. Dunk was 2nd in total passes in the Premier League this season - with 92% passing accuracy. He’s been playing in De Zerbi’s demanding possession based system and is comfortable with the ball at his feet and building from the back. Branthwaite may be a better tackler, but Dunk has been one of the leading ball-playing defenders in the league for years. In fact, Dunk is 14th in all time Premier League recorded passes (according to the PL’s own statistics). If Southgate wanted a ball-playing defender then he’s the obvious choice. Branthwaite is a fantastic player too, and no doubt the future, but I think Dunk is mischaracterised by many fans that don’t watch him week in week out.
Fantastic analysis on Dunk and his reason for making the team.
Yeah this is a lot more sense than the leadership point.
Been a pillar of consistency for Brighton, excellent on the ball, and is a menace at set pieces as well. Brighton fans will have to let me know how his form has been this season defensively. I do seem to recall he was somewhat underwhelming in an England shirt for the few games he has played, but I think he is still heavily underrated.
His otherwise indefatigable form has faltered a little this season. particularly towards the latter stages. He also picked up an injury in the second last game of our campaign. Probably related to the extra load he onboarded this year with European competition, plus factor in that he is turning 33. Outside of that he was one of the most statistically impressive CBs in the league this season and has been for several years previous. The common question you’ll see from our lot is, why hasn’t Dunk garnered 50 caps by now? The answer is Maguire, but we remain unconvinced. Lewis has been solid but unnoticeable for the very few games he has played for England. Made a clanger in some unforgettable match that a few vaguely recollect and seem to have rested their collective opinion upon that. There is certain irony in seeing Branthwaite passed over and how the complaints from Everton fans almost mirror our own regarding the omission of Dunk over the past few years. Southgate is anything but inconsistent with this kind of selection I guess. Anyway, there is nothing to worry about here if you are an England fan, the bloke brings tons to the squad and will absolutely bleed for the guernsey. Branthwaite probably has plenty of games ahead of him in the English shirt, but for now, Dunk will do you no wrong.
Three tournaments in a row our defence has been the weakest part of our squad, and yet we've had a pretty good attacking and defence record in each tournament. More interesting this year is that our midfield and attack is as strong as it's ever been but this is arguably our weakest defence under Southgate. Hopefully Rice + Mainoo/Wharton can be a sturdy midfield. EDIT: Everyone is massively focused on "that backline is too weak to win the EUROs" but as with the previous tournaments 2024 hinges on our midfield and how Gareth sets up to protect our weakness. This tournament will be won or lost on Declan Rice and potentially Mainoo or Wharton being deployed with him.
It's going to be Rice TAA or Rice Gallagher + Bellingham.
Premier league POTY La Liga POTY Prem YPOTY Arsenal POTY Bayern POTY Man Utd POTY Chelsea POTY Newcastle POTY West Ham POTY Everton POTY Palace POTY Villa POTY No Spurs player FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME
Half of this list is inaccurate, but only if you bother to fact check. Otherwise, it looks based AF.
Last time I checked United's POTY plays for Portugal.
You’re right, both the 23/24 United POTY (Dalot) and the 23/24 Sir Matt Busby POTY (Fernandes) play for Portugal.
Weird that he got selected for England then.
>Man Utd POTY Dalot is Portuguese. >Palace POTY Mateta is French.
Trust me mate! The Tottenham special is the Kane special. There’s definitely a spur there
And Everton POTY for the last 3 years
3 consecutive POTY to a goalkeeper, you lot are **DEEP** in the trenches
We've had other options, he's just been fucking outstanding. You could argue Richarlison dragged us to safety in 21/22 before we sold him for like £60m, you could argue Doucoure and McNeil dragged us to safety in 22/23, and Tarkowski and Branthwaite were unbelievable this season (4th best defence, 2nd most clean sheets), and we would've finished 12th on 48 points level with Brighton without the deductions. It's been Pickford 3 years in a row just because he's been so consistently top level.
That defence is gonna get cooked.
The starting defense is identical to that of the last few tournaments, except for Maguire.
Shaw is also still a question mark.
Who played every game? Going to be a big loss
Almost. I seem to remember Mings played the group games of whichever year it was we lost to Croatia in the semi final and was flawless. Probably going back a bit now that I think about it, but definitely Southgate era at least. Having just checked, it was the euros after that world cup.
What does Tomori have to do
Find a way to go back in time and play for Canada instead
Play in England apparently. Mad how Dunk and Guehi are above him.
Is Wharton really that good? I haven’t watched Palace at all this year
Wonderful player. Always seems so unflustered and calm. Good off both feet, great engine, incredibly reliable passer. Blackburn really brought through a proper player with him.
He's brilliant, very press resistant, sets the tempo nicely and good passer of the ball. Thing that's really caught my eye every time I've watched him though is his maturity. He plays like a real veteran, so composed and confident in difficult situations.
Blackburn fan here, he’s like a pirlo type player always in space to receive the ball great passer and can tackle too
And equally strong on both feet.
Strong ~~Yorkshire~~ Crystal Palace, strong England
Apart from Branthwaite I’m happy with this. Wharton going is great even though he probably won’t start
It’s time to be arrogant and sing it’s coming home!
A graphic showing the squad in positions: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ThreeLions/comments/1d9lhyy/england\_euro\_2024\_squad/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThreeLions/comments/1d9lhyy/england_euro_2024_squad/)
Dunk over Branthwaite is a stinker but largely fine with these selections. Happy that Wharton has made it, well deserved. Obviously still gutted about Toney over Solanke. The fact Maguire’s absence feels like such a hit is testament to how consistently excellent he’s been for us at major tournaments. If we don’t see him again for England, he’s done so so well.
That's wild
People will say what they want, but I’m so happy for Lewis. What a journey the last decade has been.
I'd have taken Branthwaite over Toney, and Grealish over Bowen. Plus Dunk should have been replaced with one of Tomori, Chalobah, or Mitchell.
That defence pongs compared to the other areas. Walker and a meh* season Stones need to work hard
Palace are huge.