I believe this is the strongest England squad I have seen going into a top tournament. Yes, there are a few frailties in defence, particularly if Luke Shaw falls over, but generally it's a fantastic squad and a common sense selection. Do a poll of the teams in the tournament and no one will want to play against England. Ask their biggest rivals Germany, Italy, France, Spain or Portugal and they'd all want to avoid this English team. There is a bit of conjecture about James Maddison and Jack Grealish, in particular, being left out but you'd have to say neither can really have any complaints on the evidence of their season overall.

Gareth Southgate has, in the main, picked form players. Harry Maguire's calf injury means you can't take the risk of him breaking down possibly five minutes into the very first game of the tournament but he has had an up-and-down campaign, anyway. He started with his own manager not wanting him at Manchester United, kuy 138 slot then battled his way back into the team only to be injured again. England are the favourites to win Euro 2024, which gets underway in Germany next week Gareth Southgate announced his final 26-man squad that will contest the tournament Jack Butland kept 18 clean sheets in 33 Scottish Premiership games for Rangers last season Podcast All episodes EPISODE 91: Can Manchester City cope without Pep Guardiola? EPISODE 90: How Manchester United CAN win crunch FA Cup clash EPISODE 89: Why Manchester City aren't the reason the League is boring 'It hasn't worked!' Is VAR the problem or the solution? EPISODE 87: Why United must tear down Old Trafford and move to Wembley Play on Apple Spotify All three have had stop-start seasons and not shown their true form consistently.

It's going to be a test of their mentality now but they have to get their heads right and go into next season stronger. It's not a disappointment I ever had to deal with. I was selected for Scotland in 1974 for a friendly against West Germany in Frankfurt ahead of the World Cup but I never played so never made the cut. Denis Law and Billy Bremner, great players I had grown up watching on TV, were in that squad, it was no real surprise I was left out. I was 21, I had tournaments ahead of me, and the England players missing out today have to maintain that belief, too.

I thought Southgate may have taken Jarrad Branthwaite for a couple of reasons. One being he could run into problems with Shaw and the two obvious replacements are naturally right-footed players in Joe Gomez and Kieran Trippier. Read More Inside Gareth Southgate's toughest 24 hours as England manager Branthwaite is a natural left-footer and because of the qualities that young man has shown — athletic and good on the ball — he could have been a makeshift left back.

The Everton defender has had a very good season and believe he will become a top player. I find it strange that Gareth only gave him 30 minutes in the build-up games. Gareth has also been very loyal to Jordan Pickford, which I can understand, but, for me, there is another goalkeeper who should be going to the tournament. I've watched Jack Butland several times playing for Rangers this season and he is the best English goalkeeper around.