Group stage

Sunday 16 June - Group C: Serbia vs England

Thursday 20 June - Group C: Denmark vs England

Tuesday 25 June - Group C: England vs Slovenia

It sounds like Reece James will not be making Euro 2024. The Chelsea captain has missed much of the season through injury, though perhaps he would have been included had he shone in the final games of the campaign. Instead he was sent off and then suspended, and it looks like Gareth Southgate is happy with his other options at right-back.

Gareth Southgate has a host of dilemmas to solve before picking England’s Euro 2024 squad, and there will no doubt be countless tense conversations with assistant Steve Holland over the next few weeks about left-backs and No 6s and the existential necessity of Jordan Henderson.

Chief among them is the question of which striker to take alongside Harry Kane. Given that squads have shrunk back down to 23 players from 26 at the past two tournaments, Southgate will likely pick only two out-and-out No 9s. Callum Wilson was once in the picture but has faded with injuries. Dominic Solanke has made a charge but it is too late. The battle to join Kane at the Euros is between Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney.

They match up pretty evenly. On form, Watkins has the edge with a flood of goals and assists since Unai Emery took charge of Aston Villa. Toney returned from his betting ban in January with a few goals but is not as prolific, though that is perhaps understandable playing for Brentford rather than Villa. Watkins has a little more international experience, having made 11 caps and scored three goals; Toney has one goal in two appearances.

Undoubtedly Foden will be included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the upcoming Euro 2024, but questions remain over whether he will play.

Here The Independent’s sports team take a look at where they think the England manager should employ one of his key weapons:

The Daily Mail is also reporting that Ivan Toney is in the initial squad. He was not necessarily a shoo-in, given his poor club form in recent months, without a goal since February. But the striker is in the group and will hope to make the final 26 after scoring a penalty against Belgium in March to remind Gareth Southgate of his spot-kick prowess.

James Maddison and Kobbie Mainoo are the latest players to be confirmed in the training squad, although they are no great surprise.

The initial squad’s size has still not been confirmed but we are expecting around 33 players to be named, meaning seven or so will be cut when the final 26 are announced on Saturday 8 July, six days before Euro 2024 begins.

A key figure in England’s last two tournaments, the Euro 2020 final goalscorer has endured a difficult, injury-impacted campaign. The 28-year-old has only managed 15 appearances for Manchester United this term and has not featured for the national team since last June. Shaw is expected to return for United from his latest setback next month and feature before the end of the season. Southgate would surely include someone he calls “one of the best left-backs in world football” if the squad is enlarged.

Reece James

Right-back is nowhere near as much of a pressing issue as left-back given England’s options, but a selection of 26 would offer James a glimmer of hope. The Chelsea captain has only managed nine appearances this term and is at risk of missing his second successive international tournament, having been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar with a knee injury. This time James is dealing with a hamstring issue and the Football Association has been in close contact with Chelsea throughout the 24-year-old’s rehabilitation.

Eric Dier believes he is playing the best football of his career and warrants a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

The 30-year-old has been a regular for Bayern Munich since his eye-catching loan switch in January, having dropped down the pecking order at Tottenham where he made only four appearances under Ange Postecoglou.

Dier has impressed for the German giants but Southgate overlooked the 49-cap England defender for March’s final camp before naming his Euros squad.

“Obviously, I want to be a part of the England set-up and I believe that I should be a part of it, that I’m that level of a player,” Dier told The Overlap podcast.

“I haven’t spoken at all to Gareth Southgate, but you try and play as well as possible for your club and then the decision is out of your hands.

“Since the World Cup, I wouldn’t say that I’ve had any dip in form, I’m playing the best football of my career since (Antonio) Conte came (to Tottenham in 2021) and I’ve carried it on since I’ve been here, and I think I’ve shown that.

“People think that I’m 37 or something, but I’m 30 years-old and am nowhere near the end of my prime and imagine that this will be my prime.

“When I look around the players I’ve played with in my career, like (Mousa) Dembele, (Jan) Vertonghen, (Toby) Alderweireld, (Hugo) Lloris – all these guys, they were 31, 32 and were playing their best football at Tottenham.”

Here’s a bit more on Adam Wharton, the Crystal Palace midfielder who is expected to be announced in the senior England squad for the first time today:

Reports are now surfacing that Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah is included in England’s initial squad, to be officially announced later today. The 21-year-old has been excellent this season coming into the Reds’ defence alongside Virgil van Dijk.