Even with an increased roster, Gareth Southgate still has some difficult decisions to make ahead of the tournament
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It's soon to be official: UEFA have finally decided, mere weeks before the start of the tournament, to up the number of players in each squad at Euro 2024 from 23 to 26.
Quite why the number was altered so close to the Euros, given that nothing has really changed since they decided to limit it to 23, seems a little bit odd. True, managers have been pushing for a change recently – presumably because they've started to dread having difficult conversations with players about leaving them at home – but such a situation was hardly unforeseeable.
Whatever the timing though, the decision is great news for 72 players across the continent, who would have missed out on the tournament, but will now be selected.
We'll never know exactly which three players Gareth Southgate would have left out – understandably, he's unlikely to tell us – but it at least makes his job a little easier.
Given the talent at his disposal, selecting only 23 players looked like an extremely difficult task. Even with 26, very good candidates still won't make it.
I had a go at picking my own 23-man squad for the tournament for this website a few weeks ago. It's very subjective, so I don't expect everyone to agree. Three goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone. Swap Johnstone for Nick Pope now because of injury.
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Four centre-backs: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Marc Guehi and Joe Gomez, who can cover across the back four. At full-back, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who could also move to midfield alongside Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and James Maddison.
In the front three, I had Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Ollie Watkins... and Raheem Sterling, who I think has rarely let England down, but I'm now accepting will not make the squad, given his form for Chelsea. Swap him for Cole Palmer, who's been in sensational form.
Kobbie Mainoo also now has to make the squad, although who would have made way for him would have been tricky to figure out. Chilwell? Henderson?
As it turns out, now they can all make it, with room for two more on top of that. Let's say that Chilwell might have been the first beneficiary of the 26-man squad, given that the squad already had a lot of full-back options, including Trippier, who can play on either side. Who will be the two others?
Firstly, I wonder whether England are still a little light for central midfield options, so Conor Gallagher could be in. Secondly, I already have six potential wide attacking options in the squad, for two positions – as incredibly harsh as it would be on Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen, do they need a seventh?
For that reason, I'd take a third striker, and also a potential penalty shoot-out option, in Ivan Toney.
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
