Southgate Yet To Confirm Grealish's Role In England's Euro 2024 Squad
Gareth Southgate remains undecided on whether Jack Grealish will be included in England's final 26-man squad for Euro 2024, citing intense competition for wide positions. Grealish, who has made 10 appearances in Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, mostly as a substitute, faces uncertainty due to a challenging season with Manchester City.
Grealish has earned all 35 of his England caps under Southgate. However, injuries and inconsistent form limited him to just 20 appearances across all competitions in the 2023-24 season. This is a stark contrast to his previous season, where he contributed five goals and seven assists as Manchester City secured the treble.
Despite these setbacks, Southgate praised Grealish's attitude ahead of this week's warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland. "He has been really bright and he loves being here. He’s had a good energy about his training," Southgate commented. "This season he has not played as much. I’m sure he would have liked that to be different but we know the qualities he can bring."
However, with players like Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, James Maddison, and Eberechi Eze all vying for wide positions, Grealish's spot is under scrutiny. When asked about Grealish's chances, Southgate stated: "I don’t think we’re defining that just yet. I think we know where we’re likely to be."
Southgate elaborated on the selection process: "It’s hard to be quite so specific because we keep sitting down and saying: 'Okay, if it’s this or this.' Then somebody else in the room says: 'What about if we lose that player there, or that one doesn’t come through with his injury? Do we need another one in this area?' Time is our friend this week. It’s worth using the time."
The England manager acknowledged the depth of talent available: "There are a lot of good players in that area of the pitch and they are all competing. We think we know who the best have been across the season. What we don’t totally know is how many we need to take or how many we can allow ourselves to take because of the cover we might need in other positions."
England will face Bosnia and Herzegovina at Newcastle's St James' Park on June 3 at 7:45 PM BST. The match will be broadcast on Channel 4.
Matchday in Newcastle! Bosnia & Herzegovina @NUFC 7.45pm @Channel4 pic.twitter.com/1QcCxK9wz7
— England (@England) June 3, 2024
A sunny session ahead of taking on ???????? pic.twitter.com/KO5LN4LTjq
— England (@England) June 2, 2024
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