Manchester United legend and Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney has revealed one player England will miss in the 2024 Euros.
England national team head coach Gareth Southgate churned out his final 26-man squad list for the tournament ahead of UEFA June 7 deadline after his initial 33-man provisional squad.
Leading the list of names that were axed out of the 33-man squad in the final 26-man list was Manchester United defender Harry Maguire. Tottenham Hotspur’s prolific midfielder James Madison was also dropped.
England would go ahead to lose their first friendly after the 26-man list was out. They suffered a shocking home defeat to lowly-rated Iceland at Wembley. Thorstensson’s 12th-minute goal was enough to condemn the 2020 Euros runners-up to a loss.
Speaking after the loss to Iceland, Wayne Rooney said England will definitely miss Manchester United defender Harry Maguire in the competition.
He blamed the loss to Iceland on a tardy backline that lacked experience enough to connect with the midfield and the attack for a smooth gameplay. To him, such glaring lapses would have been covered by Harry Maguire, hence the omission of the defender will be a big loss to the team, heading to Germany
“Tonight the back line were a little bit disjointed at times, and that’s through lack of experience.
”That’s something I’m sure Gareth and the coaches will be showing them, you have to get that right because we’re so excited by the attacking players we’ve got, they have to be backed up by the back line and being aggressive.
”I think tonight actually shows the importance of Harry Maguire to this England team and what a big loss he is to this squad,” he said on Channel 4.
Maguire, 31, was left out of the England squad due to fitness problems. The 63-cap England international has been Gareth Southgate’s choice center-back since the manager assumed the reins as England national team head coach.
Southgate stuck to Harry Maguire despite past criticisms of the latter’s performance both at club and international levels. Despite the player’s niggling injury issues, he still made the 33-man list before being screened out in the final 26-man list after final assessment in the training camp.
England will kick off their 2024 Euros campaign against Serbia on June 16, 2024, before taking Denmark and Slovenia in Group C
