- Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw beamed during England training
- Other stars were on display as the Three Lions prepare for pre-tournament games.
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Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were all smiles during an England training session at Darlington on Wednesday.
At club level, there were struggles for form, although last weekend’s FA Cup success concluded their season on a positive note, before both players joined the England camp.
Maguire and Shaw have joined their international comrades earlier than expected as they look to prove their fitness ahead of Euro 2024 and confirm their place in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for Germany.
There were smiles too from Trent Alexander-Arnold and James Maddison during England’s first training session ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
Southgate’s Three Lions have friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland before their Group C campaign begins against Serbia on June 16.
Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw looked quite happy during England’s first training session.
There were also broad smiles from Trent Alexander-Arnold and James Maddison at Darlington.
Gareth Southgate prepares for two friendlies before Euro 2024 in Germany in June
Shaw recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a muscle injury that has sidelined him since mid-February, while Maguire has been out for a month with a similar issue.
England usually train at the St George’s Park national training center but Darlington is closer to St James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United and the location of the first of their two pre-tournament friendlies next week.
Manchester City and Man United players are excused from early training for their exploits in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
Manchester City Quartet John StonesPhil Foden, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish They are all absent, along with the 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoowhich he scored in Man United’s 2-1 victory at Wembley.
Those five players will not play against Bosnia in Newcastle, but could play against Iceland later this week.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham will also arrive late to camp and will miss both of England’s friendlies next week after his long-awaited appearance in the Champions League final this weekend.
However, other players have been called up to England’s training camp in north-west England, including all four Crystal Palace players in Southgate’s expanded squad, including Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton, who received his first senior call-up in this announcement. of the team. .
Aston Villa players Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins also took part in the training session in Darlington ahead of next week’s friendlies, which could be crucial in making their way into the final squad for the tournament.
England captain Harry Kane has also returned to the country after his exploits with Bayern Munich this season, breaking all sorts of Bundesliga debut records and hoping for similar success in Germany with the national team in June and July.
Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton were among four Crystal Palace players who trained at the camp.
Aston Villa duo Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins also took part in training in Darlington.
England captain Harry Kane was stretching on his return to the country from Bayern Munich.
After their first group match against Serbia, England also have matches against Denmark and Slovenia, as they look to qualify for the round of 16 of Euro 2024.
England were beaten finalists at Euro 2020, which was played in 2021, and are expected to be among the final teams in Germany this summer.
