England ‘not a happy camp’ after Gareth Southgate ‘deeply upset’ Man City star

The England squad was ‘not a happy camp’ after Gareth Southgate chose to omit Man City winger Jack Grealish from his Euro 2024 squad, according to reports.

England were beaten 2-1 by Spain in Berlin as Southgate’s men finished Euros runners-up for the second tournament in succession.

Along with a run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup it means Southgate’s record is the envy of every England boss since Sir Alf Ramsey led the team to World Cup success in 1966.

But Southgate has been criticised for what many see as his conservative and cautious approach and has often been accused of having failed to get the best out of a promising crop of players.

The 53-year-old former defender, whose England contract runs out in December, said after the final that a decision on his future was “not for now”.

And it has emerged that his decision to leave Man City winger Grealish and Man Utd defender Harry Maguire out of the final squad for Euro 2024 left Southgate with an unhappy group of players ahead of the tournament.

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Oliver Kay wrote in The Athletic :

‘Maguire knew he faced a race against time, having missed the final weeks of Manchester United’s season with a calf injury. But even after a slight setback, the defender felt he would be fit by England’s third group game. He was shocked when Southgate told him he was out of the final squad. Maguire insisted he would be fit. Southgate told him he couldn’t take the risk.

‘Grealish was equally stunned. He had made a positive impact from the bench in the friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina three days earlier and hoped he would be involved in the final warm-up match against Iceland at Wembley, but he too was summoned by Southgate and told he had not made the cut.

‘Maddison left the camp almost immediately. Maguire and Grealish hung around, still shocked. In both cases, that sense of shock was shared by team-mates. Some visited Grealish in his bedroom, expressing disbelief. Rice said in a news conference he was “gutted” that Maddison and Grealish, “two of my best mates in the squad”, had been left out.

‘Beyond personal feelings, some players simply felt Grealish should have been included because of his quality and big-game experience. He had barely figured in the final weeks of the season at Manchester City, but he started both legs of a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in April. If Pep Guardiola was willing to trust him in big games, why was he suddenly surplus to Southgate’s requirements? Was it personal? Something else?

‘Grealish wished all his team-mates good luck before he left the camp, but he was in no mood for pleasantries with Southgate. He was shocked and deeply upset. It left a bittersweet feeling among some of the players as they received confirmation of their call-ups. For many, it was not a happy camp that evening.’