Southgate finally gets ruthless – now England’s new generation must step up

For years, Gareth Southgate has been accused of being overly loyal; of sticking by his most experienced players no matter how badly they were playing for their clubs. To Southgate’s detractors, he was guilty of favouritism, of ignoring the claims of in-form players so he could stick with those who had served him well in the past.

Nobody could make that critique stick on Southgate today.

This was the most ruthless day of Southgate’s eight-year tenure as England manager. As he unveiled his long list of 33 players from which he will choose his 26-strong squad for the European Championship that kicks off on June 14, he did so without so many of the pillars of his reign so far.

Jordan Henderson has been one of the indispensable men of the Southgate era.

He was there for Southgate’s first game as interim replacement for Sam Allardyce, Malta at home in October 2016, and has been integral ever since.

The then Liverpool midfielder was already an experienced player at that point — having been picked for Euro 2012, the World Cup two years later and Euro 2016 by Roy Hodgson — and has been the most trusted senior voice ever since. Henderson anchored the midfield at the 2018 World Cup, then came off the bench in the last five games at the Euros in 2021 — the ultimate closer to see games out as England got to the final. He returned to the starting 11 for the knockout ties at the most recent World Cup, providing experience alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in the middle.

Even though he has had a tough year at club level, first in Saudi Arabia and then with Ajax, it felt as if Southgate would still want him for his experience and leadership.

Henderson was always one of the most vocal members of the squad, not just the loudest on the pitch but also a trusted voice on delicate matters. When Joe Gomez and Raheem Sterling dramatically fell out at an England camp in 2019, it was Henderson who helped solve the problem.

Today, Southgate called him an “exceptional individual” and a “fantastic human being”.

And yet despite all of that, there was no place for Henderson on today’s list. Southgate said he had struggled to find the “intensity” in recent weeks following an injury.

When Southgate said it was a “really difficult call to make”, it sounded like the hardest piece of bad news he had to break today. Because, with Henderson turning 34 next month, it feels like he may struggle to add to his 81 caps.

Marcus Rashford is not quite as experienced as Henderson but, like him, his international career started before Southgate was even appointed to the senior job.

He went to Euro 2016 with Hodgson, came off the bench in Southgate’s first game, and has been to all three major tournaments under him. He was generally a substitute at the 2018 World Cup (where he scored in the last-16 shootout win against Colombia), at Euro 2020 (where he missed his attempt as Italy became champions, also on penalties) and in the World Cup two years ago. Perhaps he was unfortunate that Harry Kane and Sterling were always starting ahead of him and that his best form for England came in the three years between Russia 2018 and those pandemic-delayed Euros.

But Southgate has always trusted Rashford, taking him to those Euros despite an injury and always valuing what he can offer.

Even during a very difficult 2023-24 season for him and Manchester United, Southgate included Rashford for the March internationals. But this time, the 26-year-old is out, with younger in-form players preferred. “With Marcus, I just feel that other players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons,” said Southgate at the start of his press conference. “It’s as simple as that.”

Those were the two headline absences, but there are plenty of other prominent players from recent years who did not make it.

Perhaps Sterling’s absence is no longer too noteworthy; he was an integral player for Southgate right up until the Qatar World Cup but has not been in an England squad since.

Eric Dier, who hasn’t won a cap since Qatar either, is also out, despite being in the form of his life for Bayern Munich since his January move, helping them to the Champions League semi-final and proving he can play in a back four. “He’s played very well for Bayern and I know that they’re very very happy with him,” Southgate said. “We think he’s just behind the other guys we’ve selected.”

That tournament in Qatar was only 18 months ago, yet it now feels like a different era because so many of the players Southgate picked have now been discarded. Not just Henderson, Rashford, Sterling and Dier, but also Kalvin Phillips — perhaps not surprisingly, deemed not to have had a good enough season — while Mason Mount, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson and Conor Coady have also fallen out of view.

There is also no place for Ben Chilwell, who along with Rashford and Henderson, got a phone call from Southgate explaining his omission.

So whichever seven players are released between now and the flight to Germany, this is already a novel, radical, youthful squad. Everyone expects a degree of churn, but nobody expected Southgate to not include so many of his most trusted players on today’s list.

And it does raise the prospect of a different leadership dynamic, this summer and beyond.

Of course, there will still be experienced players who have been there from Russia 2018, or even before: Kane, Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Harry Maguire. The spine of the England team is intact. But with the rest of the veterans now out of the picture, the space has been created for a new generation of leaders to step up.

In England’s most recent game, against Belgium in March, they were captained by Declan Rice. As a guaranteed starter in Germany, there will be increasing attention on his leadership as well as the play of Jude Bellingham, who has been identified as a potential national-team captain since he started with England Under-15s.

These are the players who must fill that leadership space now. Because at some point in the future, people will start to ask whether it is Rice or Bellingham who takes the armband when Kane chooses to hand it over.

This is why Southgate is moving away from having a traditional ‘leadership group’ and does not want his players to be too deferential to the roles of captain and vice-captain.

“We’ve got young players with a lot of caps,” Southgate said. “There’s no reason why young players can’t lead and the dynamic will be slightly different. But also you’re giving space to other people to mature and develop. We’ve got so many good influences around the group that I want input from various areas. We need people to step forward.”

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford. Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire, Jarell Quansah, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker. Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, Curtis Jones, Kobbie Mainoo, Adam Wharton, Declan Rice. Forwards: Jude Bellingham, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins

Key dates

• June 4: vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (friendly)
• June 7: vs Iceland (friendly)
• June 7: Final Euro 2024 squad submitted
• June 16: vs Serbia (Euro 2024 Group C)
• June 20: vs Denmark (Euro 2024 Group C)
• June 25: vs Slovenia (Euro 2024 Group C)

(Top photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)