England will begin their Euro campaign in just over a week and several omitted players will feel they did enough to be in Gareth Southgate’s team.
The Three Lions boss named his 26 chosen players on Thursday after removing seven players from his provisional squad.
Jack Grealish’s exclusion from Manchester City was the most notable, while James Maddison’s omission is no surprise.
Several players did not even make the provisional team despite some of them having excellent seasons in their respective clubs.
Mail Sport shows you the alternative England XI that Southgate has not taken to Euro 2024.
England will begin their Euro campaign in just over a week against Serbia
Gareth Southgate named his 26 chosen players on Thursday and left out some big names
Goalkeeper: Nick Papa
The Newcastle goalkeeper will be considered one of the unlucky ones not to feature for England this summer.
Pope suffered a shoulder injury against Manchester United in December and did not return to action until the final day of the season.
Right back: Ben White
Southgate said in March that the 26-year-old Arsenal defender had told England that he did not wish to be considered for the squad.
White has not played internationally since returning from the 2022 Qatar World Cup “for personal reasons” after Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland reportedly made a “scathing comment” at his expense in front of the team.
Central defender: Harry Maguire
Maguire was excluded from the provisional squad, hours after Mail Sport revealed doubts over the Manchester United star’s fitness.
The England centre-back has not played since April and was expected to miss Friday’s final warm-up match against Iceland. Doubts over his fitness mean he will miss a tournament for the first time under Southgate.
Ben White has not played internationally since returning early from the 2022 World Cup
Harry Maguire excluded from provisional squad amid doubts over his fitness
Center back: Branthwaite
Branthwaite made his England debut as a substitute against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night, but there has been much clamor for his selection.
Many thought he would be on the plane after Maguire was ruled out, but he ultimately missed out.
Left back: Ben Chilwell
The Chelsea defender was a doubt from the start after suffering a knee injury at the end of the season.
Questions remain over whether he would have been called up even if he was fit after a normal season with the Blues.
Right winger: Jadon Sancho
The 24-year-old shone towards the end of the season and played a huge role in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final.
But he always had a slim chance of receiving an England call-up after struggling since his move to Manchester United in 2021.
Jadon Sancho shined in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final
Central midfielder: James Maddison
Maddison was widely seen as one of the players at risk of missing out after a very disappointing second half of the season for Tottenham.
The 27-year-old left the Three Lions’ training camp before taking to social media to express his thoughts, where he suggested he was surprised to have been sacked.
Central midfielder: Mason Mount
The least surprising omission. Mount has struggled for fitness during his time at Manchester United.
The 25-year-old played just 14 Premier League games all season and returned from a calf injury in March.
Jack Grealish (left) and James Maddison (right) were among the big names sacked by Southgate.
Left wing: Jack Grealish
The Manchester City midfielder was the most surprising move Southgate called off and seemingly paid the price for a disappointing campaign with Pep Guardiola’s men.
He scored just three goals in 20 Premier League games and struggled for fitness throughout the campaign.
Forward: Marcus Rashford
He endured a difficult 2023-24 campaign for Manchester United, scoring just seven goals and two assists in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag, after a hugely impressive 2022-23.
Southgate, who has played Rashford in 57 of his 60 international matches, revealed the decision was difficult but insisted Rashford’s omission was solely due to his performances on the field.
Marcus Rashford endured difficult 2023-24 campaign for Manchester United and misses out
Forward: Dominic Solanke
The Bournemouth striker will feel he did everything he could to earn a call-up after an excellent season with the Cherries.
He scored 19 Premier League goals in 38 appearances as Andoni Iraola’s men finished comfortably in mid-table. However, Southgate has favored Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Jarrod Bowen ahead of Solanke.
