Euro 2024: England squad, starting XI and tournament odds

Now we know each nation will be able to pick expanded squads of 26, here are the players that Southgate has picked for his squad, with seven already dropping out from the training camp before the group travels to Germany

• Goalkeepers - Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Dean Henderson
• Defenders - John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Joe Gomez, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi
• Midfielders - Adam Wharton, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Koibbe Mainoo, Conor Gallagher, Trent Alexander-Arnold
• Attackers - Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen, Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon, Ebereci Eze, Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins
  

The real shocks in the Euro 2024 squad come in the form of those left out rather than those included, with many fans having expected both Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford to feature, but both have been left out due to injury issues and poor club form.

Also, despite Shaw being a 'long shot' for the tournament due to injury, Southgate has opted to exclude Ben Chilwell, with the Chelsea man clearly not doing enough during the club season to impress the England boss enough to warrant a selection for the tournament.

This writer would have liked to have seen Harvey Elliot in the England squad, but given that he's never featured for his country, and due to the sheer volume of talent in the national pool, it’s was always unlikely that he'd be included in the 26-man squad for Euro 2024. However, expect the Liverpool midfielders to start being picked for the squads following the tournament, as we look forward to the World Cup in 2026.

Harry Maguire was included in the original provisional squad, but his injury means he's had to drop out and now won't feature. James Maddison, James Trafford, Jack Grealish, Jarell Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite and Curtis Jones were also all included, but have now been cut.

Taking the 26-man squad that Southgate has picked for his Euro 2024 training camp into account, below is the starting XI that we think the England boss should be lining up with at the tournament.

A lot of the debate surrounding England’s team is whether Kyle Walker plays at right-back, if Trent Alexander-Arnold plays in defence or midfield, and how he can fit both Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden into his team, and we think we’ve found a solution.

The team sees Pickford in goal, with Walker lining up in defence alongside John Stones, Marc Guehi and Trippier, with Luke Shaw waiting in the wings to come into the starting XI when he's deemed fit enough to return from his injury.

We’re having Trent in midfield alongside Rice and Bellingham, a three that has the quality and balance to thrive on the international stage against the biggest and best players, as was seen in the 1-0 win over Serbia on June 16.

As for the forward line, we’ll have Phil Foden off the left, which may not be is best position, but Southgate could have him and Bellingham rotating so the Man City man can still pop up in central areas, which has proved to be successful for him his campaign. On the right it’s Bukayo Saka, who still has enough to see off Cole Palmer and earn a spot in the team, and it’s Harry Kane leading the line, of course.

As noted, England are 6/5 to win Euro 2024, viewed by the bookies and many pundits and fans alike as one of the favourites for this summer’s tournament. A lot of that has to do with the form of their key men, with Saka, Foden, Kane and Bellingham all arguably playing the football of their careers this season.

However, England have always had talented squads, especially with the Golden Generation that boasted the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes. It’ll be up to Southgate to get the top talent to gel together, playing as a team rather than individuals, if he wants to win England its first Euros.

England were drawn in Group C, and kicked off their game against Serbia on 16 June in Gelsenkirchen, They then moved onto Frankfurt where they’ll were held to a 1-1 draw by Denmark on June 20, which saw them lose their spot as bookies' favourites to France. England concluded their group games in Cologne on June 25, where also drew with Slovenia.

England were then draw against Slovakia in the last 16, and despite being the heavy favourites for the game, relied on a last-minute equaliser from Bellingham to remain in the competition, before Kane scored in extra time to give the Three Lions a spot in the final eight.

They then needed penalties to beat Switzerland last week in the quarter-finals, but victory in that game means they played the Netherlands on Wednesday evening, with a spot in Sunday night's final against Spain on the line.

A late goal from Ollie Watkins secured the win for England, who following the heartbreak of losing in the final to Italy in 2021, have now made it to the final two once again.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.