Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford are the surprise omissions from Gareth Southgate’s preliminary England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
Southgate announced his 33-man squad on Tuesday lunchtime and will cut it down to 26 players by June 7, but England will be without two experienced internationals in a squad full of surprises.
The squad of 26 - up from 23 of previous tournaments - had been expected to favour players such as Henderson and Rashford, both of whom have had difficult seasons, but both have missed out with four uncapped players making the squad.
Despite a relatively inexperienced squad, England remain 3/1 favourites to win Euro 2024 in Germany.
Jordan Henderson to miss out & Curtis Jones called up
All odds correct as of Tuesday 21 May, 11am
Henderson’s omission was arguably the least surprising given a turbulent year for the midfielder, having left Liverpool last summer to move to Saudi Arabia before making an embarrassing U-turn on the decision and join Ajax for the second half of the season.
Even that didn’t go well however, as Henderson suffered injuries that restricted his game time and therefore chance to convince Southgate of his right to a place in the squad.
The decision to exclude him could go down well with supporters however, who are not only sceptical about Henderson’s dwindling powers, but were very critical of his move to Saudi Arabia given his previous stance on LGBQT+ rights.
His former Liverpool teammate, Curtis Jones, is one of the beneficiaries of his absence having forced his way into the squad following an impressive season at Anfield.
Jones is well known to the England hierarchy having been a big part of youth teams for England over the years, and in particular the victorious under-21s team last year, but was an 8/1 outsider at the start of the day to make the cut.
Adam Wharton is another who has surprisingly forced his way in having made a stunning impact at Crystal Palace since his January move from Blackburn.
No Rashford
Given Henderson’s form and lack of competitive game time, it was no great surprise to see him left out, but Rashford’s absence is arguably more notable.
While he has struggled with form this season and there have been questions raised over his on-field attitude, Rashford has always been a big part of Southgate’s plans and appears much more comfortable in the white of England than the red of Manchester United.
His performances and impact at the last World Cup sparked a superb run of form and his best goalscoring season last year, but even with the potential impact he can have off the bench he has not done enough to convince Southgate of a place in the squad.
In his place, the likes of Anthony Gordon - who impressed in the March internationals - Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen have been preferred and will have the opportunity to force their way into Southgate’s plans for Germany.
Rashford is another who had appeared pretty much nailed-on to make the squad at the start of the day, with BetVictor offering odds of 1/2 for his inclusion.
Today’s Football Tips
International football does not get back underway until next month. But there is one Ligue 1 clash taking place today, as Rodez face off with Paris FC.
Paris FC travel away from home to take on Rodez on Tuesday evening, and we’ve got it covered with our bet builder of the day article, while for those of you looking to place an acca, we have our acca of the day lined up and ready to go.
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