Every issue facing England as Gareth Southgate makes major Euro 2024 squad decision

It is decision time for Gareth Southgate. This afternoon, he will announce his squad for England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. The last internationals before the summer represent a window into his thinking, to who will make the cut for Euro 2024.

With tournament squads reduced to 23, Southgate has more difficult decisions to make and less scope to appease fringe figures than he did when he could take 26 players to Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

In turn, it may give less of chance to experiment while rewarding the versatile. For now, and partly because of injuries, Southgate has issues in every department of the squad. He has too many players in some positions, not enough in others, decisions to make in all.

The probability is that Southgate’s two most contentious selections, twin examples of his stubborn loyalty, will be in the centre of the pitch. One may be alleviated a little: Jordan Henderson no longer plays in Saudi Arabia; Ajax’s January signing produced a decent display against Aston Villa on Thursday. But Kalvin Phillips’s calamitous start to his loan at West Ham undermines his case. The challenge to each could come from a player who had never started a league game when England last took the field, in Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo. Southgate has often trusted youngsters but few quite as inexperienced as the precocious 18-year-old.

It helps Henderson and Phillips that two of the possible alternatives are injured: the reinvented Trent Alexander-Arnold and his Liverpool teammate Curtis Jones, whose terrific form could have earned him a first cap. Southgate may have consigned the worthy James Ward-Prowse to history while two blasts from the more distant past, the in-form pair of Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, would be romantic choices as wild cards but, perhaps, unlikely ones. But Southgate is likely to recall a fit-again James Maddison to join Conor Gallagher and the essential duo of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in the squad.

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If much of Southgate’s preferred starting 11 seems set in stone, the spot on the left wing may not be. Marcus Rashford occupied it, and has scored in his last two games for Manchester United, but Phil Foden has presented the more compelling case; Pep Guardiola has suggested he is the best player in the Premier League now. Bukayo Saka seems a shoo-in on the right and, with Southgate very likely to select Rashford, it may mean three spots for wingers are sealed and, in turn, that may only leave one more in the summer, and perhaps two now.

Jack Grealish has been a Southgate favourite, albeit as a substitute, but a loss of form this season could have put him in peril, even before injury might rule him out of this squad. It may leave a shoot-out for one place in the summer, though Southgate could choose two now: Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen, both prolific at club level, were called up in the autumn. Anthony Gordon is the uncapped player in similarly good form, though he could be an injury doubt after coming off at Chelsea on Monday, and Eberechi Eze won two caps last year.

It could depend on which type of winger Southgate wants, given that Palmer and Bowen are better suited to the right and Gordon to the left. The host of options would seem to suggest there is no chance of a recall for Raheem Sterling.

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For most of his reign, Southgate has had too many right-backs. Now he has too few. For much of it, he had a clear pair of specialist left-backs. Now neither is fit, with Luke Shaw potentially even out of Euro 2024 and Ben Chilwell – who admittedly has only won two caps since 2021 – sidelined again. Kieran Trippier is the right-back Southgate has often deployed on the left but, like Alexander-Arnold and Reece James, he is injured. It leaves Kyle Walker as the last man standing; or, in his case, sprinting.

All of which creates vacancies and opportunities. In November, Fikayo Tomori had an awkward outing at left-back against Malta; Rico Lewis did better against North Macedonia but has rarely featured for Manchester City of late. Levi Colwill has spent much of the season as an ersatz left-back of sorts for Chelsea, but while giving the impression he is better off in the middle.

Outside Southgate’s recent squads are two intriguing, right-footed candidates who could operate on either flank: Tino Livramento, Trippier’s understudy at Newcastle and a player whose electric pace meant he often acquitted himself well on the left at club level, and Joe Gomez, who has stood in superbly when Liverpool were without Andy Robertson and was preferred to the Scotland captain against Manchester City on Sunday. Each has the ability to play multiple positions and, but for injuries, Gomez would probably have many more England caps by now.

But the awkward issue for Southgate is that the outstanding candidate on the right is Ben White, overlooked since the World Cup, seemingly out of his plans but enjoying an excellent season for Arsenal. He is harder to ignore now.

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The questions surround the supporting cast. John Stones’s return to fitness was timely and Harry Maguire, having played regularly when available for Manchester United in the last six months, may be back on Sunday.

Yet the contest to understudy them seems more open: Marc Guehi was first in line but is sidelined. Ezri Konsa, who can also play right-back, finally made it into the squad in November but has been out of late. Lewis Dunk has done well in his two caps since his recall, meanwhile Southgate has never seemed convinced by Tomori.

At some point, there may be a choice between two young left-footed centre-backs, in Colwill and Jarrad Branthwaite, though the Chelsea player is an injury doubt while perhaps the Everton defender may have to wait until after the summer.

The versatile duo of Gomez and White can come into the equation while Eric Dier, a former Southgate favourite, is renascent at Bayern Munich and could be back in the conversation.

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At times, England have seemed to have too few compelling options to understudy Harry Kane. Now they may have too many, even with Callum Wilson, his World Cup deputy, injured. Ivan Toney could deem himself the man in possession: he was in the squad a year ago, before his gambling ban began, has returned to football in decent form, albeit now going four games without a goal, and his penalty taking could be an asset in a shootout.

Yet Ollie Watkins’s performances for Aston Villa have been so impressive as to put him in pole position, even if he did not excel against North Macedonia in November. Returns of 16 Premier League goals and 10 assists highlight his improvement. Under other circumstances, Dominic Solanke’s breakthrough season could have earned him a call-up. That is harder to imagine given the competition.

Southgate is likely to take two specialist strikers but would benefit from having a third player who can operate as a centre-forward. For wingers such as Rashford, Bowen and Gordon, who have all played there at times, a capacity to double up could count in their favour.

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Jordan Pickford’s status as the first choice is reinforced by the lack of credible alternatives. Aaron Ramsdale has played one game in the last two months – and erred horribly for Brentford’s goal on Saturday – while Sam Johnstone has only recently reclaimed his place in the Crystal Palace team from his fellow England international Dean Henderson.

Nick Pope was arguably the best English goalkeeper, in terms of Premier League performances, but has been injured since December. For now, Southgate seems likely to stick with the same two back-ups.