The Three Lions boss continues to play favourites with his selections, meaning some high-profile players likely won’t be on the plane to Germany

Aside from France, no team will be able to rival England for strength in depth at Euro 2024 this summer. There are a few holes in the squad here and there, midfield most notably, but in some positions Gareth Southgate has two, or even three, world-class options to choose from.

This can be a double-edged sword. While the current generation of England players is the most talented since David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Co, some high-profile stars are guaranteed to miss out each time Southgate makes his selection.

The most recent squad was no exception. Even with a host of regulars being ruled out with injury, some onlookers were still unhappy to see their favourites miss out on games against North Macedonia and Malta.

With time running out until Euro 2024 kicks off, these debates are only going to rumble on over the coming weeks and months. Below, GOAL has taken a look at which players should be worried about their prospects of boarding the plane to Germany. In the end, there was so many, we even managed to fashion them into a makeshift XI…

GK: Nick Pope (Newcastle)

Southgate’s recent treatment of Pope has been a little strange to say the least. One would have thought that moving to Newcastle and playing in the Champions League would have only strengthened his position as one of Jordan Pickford’s deputies.

However, Pope has now not received a call-up since last March – even with Aaron Ramsdale warming the bench at Arsenal over the past few months. His other rival, Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone, may be featuring regularly for the Eagles, but he’s hardly having a standout season, making Pope’s omission all the more baffling.

Regardless, it’s looking less and less likely that he’ll be on the plane to Germany this summer.

RB: Reece James (Chelsea)

In terms of all-round ability, James is probably the best right-back Southgate has at his disposal. But that’s not the whole story here. The Chelsea captain seemingly irritated his international manager by ruling himself out of the latest squad for fitness reasons.

“There is (a lot of talent ahead of James) and that’s the risk. He’s only got one more squad before the Euros. So he knows that. We’ve got belief in what he can do,” Southgate said.

With competition for places so fierce at right-back, it’s not something James will have wanted to hear, even if he was outstanding in Chelsea’s 4-4 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

CB: Ben White (Arsenal)

“I assume so,” Southgate said, when asked whether White was fit for his most-recent squad. That he seemingly had not even considered calling up the Arsenal star is telling of how unlikely he is to make the cut this summer.

“Ben’s been very solid for Arsenal. He is a different profile of full-back. He’s more of a centre-back playing at full-back really. And he’s obviously doing a good job for his club, he’s just behind a couple of others in our reckoning,” Southgate stated.

Publicly, Southgate has insisted that there has not been a falling out between the pair after White exited the 2022 World Cup due to “personal reasons”. But as long as he continues to perform for the Gunners and remains out of the international set-up, those rumours aren’t going to subside.

CB: Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)

After years of neglect, Tomori has increasingly earned Southgate’s trust over the past few international windows. But with the England manager’s Harry Maguire obsession showing no signs of abating and John Stones a certain starter, it seems unlikely he’ll break into the starting XI permanently.

In fact, he might even be squeezed out of the squad entirely depending on how the next few months play out. Ezri Konsa, Levi Colwill, Lewis Dunk and Marc Guehi are just some of the other contenders for the centre-back spots, and history might suggest that if anyone is going to be edged out, it’s Tomori.

LB: Ben Chilwell & Luke Shaw (Chelsea & Man Utd)

England’s left-back picture will become far clearer over the next few months. At present, likely first-choice options Chilwell and Shaw have both been out injured for some time, with Kieran Trippier and Colwill filling in recently.

The issue for Chilwell and Shaw is that Southgate could be leaning towards selecting just one specialist for their position as squad sizes return to 23 in Germany.

While Trippier and Colwill can cover across multiple defensive positions, the aforementioned pair are out-and-out left-backs. There may not be space for both of them, though, unless they have standout campaigns upon their return to fitness.

CM: James Ward-Prowse (West Ham)

What has Ward-Prowse done to upset Southgate? During his time at struggling Southampton, the England manager picked him on numerous occasions, but towards the tail end of his spell at St Mary’s and since his move to West Ham, the midfielder has been excluded from the squad.

The fact that Ward-Prowse has made such an excellent start in east London only makes his omission more glaring; he’s already racked up 10 assists for the Hammers this season.

When England are so light in midfield, and one of his positional rivals is regularly playing in front of sub-1000 crowds while the other hardly ever features for Manchester City, surely this is enough to earn a recall? Apparently not.

CM: Mason Mount (Man Utd)

For a long time, Mount was one of Southgate’s most trusted lieutenants. Even amid fierce criticism for his lack of attacking output, he stood by his man – until now that is.

Mount has endured a tough time at club level over the past year or so, first limping through the 2022-23 campaign with a dysfunctional Chelsea before struggling to impress after a summer move to Manchester United.

Only 11 players have appeared for England more frequently under Southgate than the midfielder, but it’s difficult to see him adding to his 36 caps any time soon.

AM: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)

Eze is one of the Premier League’s most exciting players. Supremely agile and proficient with both feet, his ability to glide past opposing players – and more often than not create something at the end – has attracted Southgate’s eye recently. He’s even earned two international caps off the bench.

In the long term, though, Eze might struggle to keep his spot. James Maddison is still to come back, while Raheem Sterling is knocking on the door too. His fitness has been an issue as well, meaning the the ex-QPR man will need to impress even more than he has been at Selhurst Park if he wants to feature in his first-ever major tournament.

RW: Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Palmer’s decision to leave treble-winning Manchester City for Mauricio Pochettino’s new-look Chelsea side was widely derided in the summer – but it’s proved to be an inspired move so far. The languid forward has already emerged as one of the Blues’ most important players, capping off a fine start to the campaign with an ice-cool penalty against his former employers recently.

His displays have also earned England attention, with a spate of injuries earning him a call-up this month. To stay in Southgate’s thoughts, he must continue his fine form as well as adding a few more open-play goals to his game. Still, few would have foreseen him even being in contention for the Euros a few months ago, so he’s making outstanding progress.

ST: Ivan Toney (Brentford)

Toney is edging closer to a return to action following his eight-month ban for betting offences – something that has thrown his chances of making the Euros squad into serious jeopardy.

There is no better like-for-like Harry Kane replacement in the England set-up, with Southgate handing Toney minutes in the international break immediately prior to his suspension, though he will need to hit the ground running if he is to force his way back into contention over the likes of Callum Wilson and Ollie Watkins.

A lot will depend on where he is playing his football. Should a long-touted move to either Arsenal and Chelsea be completed and Toney begins strongly, he’ll be near-impossible for Southgate to ignore.

LW: Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)

Sterling has now not been included in an England squad since the 2022 World Cup ended. That’s pretty remarkable, especially as Southgate had been so loyal to him previously. The forward has been in scintillating form lately, too, stealing the show against former side City on Sunday as he desperately tried to prove a point to his international manager.

“The door is 100 percent open, not only for Raheem,” Southgate has said. “We don’t need to know about his quality or personality. He is a crucial part of why we’ve had the journey we’ve had last few years. I can only repeat, the team is playing really well. We had an exceptional win here against Italy… who do we leave out to put him in? It’s as simple as that.”

If he keeps up his current form, Southgate will surely have to row back on his decision. For now, though, Sterling’s shock exile drags on.

Honourable mentions

There’s plenty of other squad-selection headaches for Southgate to deal with too. After months of injury hell, Dominic Calvert-Lewin might be back among the Three Lions boss’ thoughts after finding some form again for Everton.

He’s not the only Englishman making waves at Goodison Park either. Jarrad Branthwaite, still just 21, has been rock solid for Sean Dyche’s men. He will likely be integrated into the team when Southgate departs.

Meanwhile, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the latest fading Premier League star to enjoy a Serie A resurgence. The former Chelsea midfielder has been one of AC Milan’s most important cogs and Southgate is a fan of the player when he’s fit.

Joe Willock might also feel aggrieved that he’s been so consistently overlooked in the middle of the park, while Liverpool’s Curtis Jones is another contender.