England manager Gareth Southgate has announced a 25-man final squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers in June. The Three Lions will travel to Malta first and then take on North Macedonia two days later back at home in the international window. There have been some interesting inclusions as well as exclusions in the recent call-up. England will look to strengthen their position on top of their group next month heading into the next round of qualifiers in September.
Previous results
Italy 2-1 England - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples (24 May 2023)
England 2-0 Ukraine - Wembley Stadium, London (26 March 2023)
England’s first game after the 2022 World Cup last October was a repeat of the Euro 2020 final with Italy in March. Southgate’s men earned their first victory in this meeting away against Azzurri in 62 years with Declan Rice and Harry Kane scoring the goals. Kane also became the all-time top scorer for the national side that evening. Mateo Retegui pulled one back for the home nation in the second half with Luke Shaw getting sent off at the end. Back in home a couple of days later, the side triumphed 2-0 over Ukraine at Wembley Stadium with Kane finding the net in the qualifiers again in the 37th minute of the match and Bukayo Saka scoring a banger moments later.
England Squad Euro Qualifiers 2024
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), James Maddison (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)
Eberechi Eze has been called up to the national camp for the first time following his excellent form of late for Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Tyrone Mings and Lewis Dunk have been recalled to the squad with the latter set to captain Brighton in European competition next season for the very first time in the club’s history. No player has scored more goals than Newcastle’s Callum Wilson since April in Europe’s top five leagues so there is no doubt on his selection. Trent Alexander-Arnold also gets the nod for the first time since the World Cup in Qatar. Despite playing just 195 minutes of Premier League football, midfielder Kalvin Phillipps finds himself in the mix as well.
The major omission from the squad has been Raheem Sterling who has been left out after a ‘mutual decision’ with the manager. It was said the reason was that the Chelsea winger is instead focusing on recuperating his body in preparation for the new season. Along with him, Fikayo Tomori of Milan and Arsenal’s Ben White have been left out of the squad. Chelsea trio Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chillwell with Newcastle’s Nick Pope are nursing injuries. Brentford striker Ivan Toney has received an eight-month ban from football by the FA for breaching betting rules. Hence, he is not included with Wilson taking his place.
England Fixtures Euro Qualifiers 2024
17 June 2023
Malta vs England - National Stadium, Ta' Qali (00:15)
The Three Lions make the trip to Malta for the third match in the Euro 2024 qualifiers in June. The bottom-ranked side are without a point on board from the opening round of games, losing 2-1 away at North Macedonia and then 2-0 to Italy at home. Malta will face Luxembourg in a friendly prior to this fixture. They have lost in all five meetings so far against England.
20 June 2023
England vs North Macedonia - Old Trafford (00:15)
The next challenge in the qualifiers for England is against North Macedonia. The nation was close to qualifying for the last year’s World Cup by stunning Italy in the playoff semi-final of the qualifiers for the competition but losing to Portugal in the final. They have started the Euro 2024 qualifiers on a winning note beating Malta and will face Ukraine before taking on England at Old Trafford.
