Two Newcastle United players were in the England squad at Euro 2024, but Jack Grealish was not.
The Manchester City superstar was a shock exclusion from Gareth Southgate’s squad, having been a mainstay for England in recent years.
But Southgate opted to leave Grealish out of his squad, as he made some big calls ahead of what would be his final tournament as England manager. The Three Lions made it to the final, but were beaten by Spain.
Grealish had expected to be in the England squad, but his absence was confirmed when it emerged that Anthony Gordon‘s ankle injury was nothing to worry about. The Newcastle United winger was named in the squad, while Grealish missed out.
That decision might be questioned in hindsight, with Gordon barely playing at the Euros. He made just one substitute appearance, and Gordon has admitted he was disappointed not to play more for England.
Jack Grealish mentions Anthony Gordon when asked about England snub
Gordon was snubbed by England out in Germany, while Grealish was snubbed before the Three Lions even got on the plane.
Now the Manchester City attacker has spoken about what happened over the summer, and has told the Telegraph that he thinks he should have gone to the Euros with England – despite players like Gordon performing so well in the build-up to the tournament.
“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it,” he said.
“Do I think I should have gone? I still think that, yeah, I should have but obviously it wasn’t meant to be.
“I felt like I didn’t have the best season. You look at some players, for example, in my position, even the likes of Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, people like this, they scored a lot of goals, which 100 per cent I agree with.
“But I just know that my game is not just about goals. I think I give so much more to the team than just goals. And I think you need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself as quite an experienced player now. I’ve played in quite a lot of big games, Champions League finals, FA Cup finals and I’ve won a lot of stuff now.”
Gordon deserved to go to the Euros ahead of Grealish
Obviously, Grealish has not named a player who he should have been chosen ahead of. That would be massively disrespectful. But he does believe that he should have been involved, largely because of his experience.
But there was plenty of experience in that England squad. Grealish talks about winning trophies, but the same goes for the likes of Phil Foden, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Jude Bellingham. England had plenty of winners, while the 29-year-old was on the back of a really underwhelming season.
Southgate’s decision not to pick him made headlines, but it was not massively controversial. If anything, it was positive to see an England manager pick players based on form rather than reputation.
That is what got Gordon in the squad, with the Newcastle winger enjoying the best season of his career. He hit double figures in goals and assists, and proved himself to be one of the Premier League’s deadliest wingers. Gordon got 23 goal contributions, compared to Grealish’s tally of six.
Howe thinks Gordon is one of the Premier League’s best wingers, and even that was not enough for him to play a starring role at Euro 2024.
Now Lee Carsley is ushering in a new era for England, and has shown a real willingness to rely on Gordon. He started both Nations League games in September, with Carsley praising Gordon for his performance.
The interim England manager has also recalled Grealish, who is back in the fold and playing alongside Gordon rather than instead of him.
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