It's decision time for the Three Lions manager as he needs to cut his 33-man squad down to 26 players. But who should be culled?
Gareth Southgate pulled no punches when he named his preliminary England squad to prepare for the European Championship, dispensing with long-serving stalwarts Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford to usher in a changing of the guard.
The manager has had more than a week to assess his squad and named an experimental line-up for the friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina to see as many players as possible. Over the next couple of days, he now has to make his mind up and cut his 33-man squad down to 26.
Southgate will name the final squad he takes to Germany on Saturday, June 8, the day after England's final warm-up game before the tournament against Iceland. And GOAL has gone through the squad with a fine-tooth comb, picking the seven players who should be kindly told to check out of St George's Park and make alternative plans for the summer…
GettyAaron Ramsdale
The four goalkeeping spots obviously need trimming down to three, and it's highly unlikely that even the third goalkeeper will get any playing time bar exceptional circumstances. So essentially Southgate needs a reliable back-up to Jordan Pickford and a third goalkeeper who will benefit from the experience of being away with the squad for a major tournament.
James Trafford, 22, is likely to be England's future No.1 and would gain the most from being with the senior squad, especially after his confidence was hit by his difficult end to the season with Burnley, when he was taken out of the team for Ari Muric.
So it is a contest between Dean Henderson and Aaron Ramsdale to step in in the case of an injury to Pickford, and right now the Crystal Palace man leads the way. He had an excellent end to the season after Sam Johnstone's injury and is in fine form ahead of the tournament, ready to dive in if needs be.
Ramsdale, by contrast, spent much of the campaign sitting on the bench after Arsenal signed David Raya and has played just two matches in 2024, meaning there is a risk he is rusty and out of practice if he does need to jump off the bench.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesCurtis Jones
Curtis Jones took the mantle from Henderson at Liverpool this season and did an excellent job until an ankle injury suffered at Brentford in February knocked him out of action for six weeks. He naturally struggled to recover his previous form when he returned, and the tournament comes after a tough end to the season for him and the Reds.
Jones also took Henderson's place in the preliminary squad, but the sheer competition for his position mean he should not go to Germany. Kobbie Mainoo has greater technical quality and is in better form, while Adam Wharton has also got ahead of him in the pecking order.
The fact that Southgate turned to Wharton rather than Jones against Bosnia suggests he has already made his mind up over which midfielder he would rather take to Germany to compete with Mainoo for the spot next to Declan Rice in holding midfield.
(C)Getty ImagesJarell Quansah
Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah had an excellent breakthrough season and will surely be a key player for England in the future, starting with the 2026 World Cup. But Euro 2024 comes just too early in his development.
Quansah is still raw and inexperienced, and made some high-profile errors, above all when he gifted Bruno Fernandes an open goal at Old Trafford in April. England have enough quality and experience in central defence and the 21-year-old, while definitely one to watch, is surplus to requirements for now.
Getty ImagesEzri Konsa
Ezri Konsa was a key part of Aston Villa finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time ever. However, he has struggled to replicate his club performances in an England shirt. That's mostly because he has been deployed as a right-back, and his performances pale in comparison to the likes of Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier
He might be a better option at centre-back, but England already have plenty of alternatives in that position, and even with doubts over Luke Shaw's fitness at left-back, Joe Gomez is a better option on that side.