Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison and Curtis Jones of Liverpool have been omitted from England’s 26-man squad for the European Championship in Germany this summer, the Football Association (FA) have confirmed.
They are the first two of seven players that manager Gareth Southgate will cut from his provisional 33-man squad ahead of UEFA’s Friday submission deadline. Sources have told ESPN that Jarell Quansah is also set to miss the cut.
– Euro 2024 bracket and fixtures schedule
In a separate post on social media, the FA also said 27 players were set to be involved in Thursday’s training session, with Lewis Dunk, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw not taking part as they follow individual programmes.
Maddison, 27, came off the bench during Monday’s 3-0 friendly win against Bosnia & Herzegovina at St. James’ Park. He was in England’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar without making an appearance.
He had to withdraw from the Euro 2024 qualifiers in November due to an ankle injury sustained during Spurs’ 4-1 home defeat to London rivals, Chelsea.
Prior to that, Madison had three goals and five assists for Tottenham in his 11 appearances since joining the club from Leicester City in June. The midfielder has struggled to recapture his early-season form since returning from injury at the end of January, scoring just one Premier League goal against Aston Villa on March 10.
In a post on X, Maddison said that, although he was disappointed to miss out on the final squad, he would support the team from afar this summer.
“Devastated doesn’t quite cut it.” Maddison wrote. “Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.
“I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26-man squad as I feel I bring something different and had been a mainstay in this whole qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany but the manager has made the decision and I have to respect that.
“I’ll be back, I have no doubt. Wishing the boys all the luck in the world out in Germany, unbelievable group and lads that I literally call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.”
England face Iceland at Wembley on Friday with a final decision due on the final squad by midnight CET.
England start their tournament against Serbia on June 16 before also facing Slovenia and Denmark in the group stage.
