Gareth Southgate’s ruthless cull of old favourites is the gamble that will define his England career

In what might be his final tournament as England manager, Gareth Southgate has put his faith in exciting talent rather than proven experience, writes Lawrence Ostlere. And on the evidence of Iceland’s 1-0 win at Wembley on Friday night, it could backfire in Germany

Gareth Southgate watches on at Wembley on Friday night (AFP via Getty Images)

Every tournament squad requires an England manager to make one or two hard choices, the odd tense conversation with a loyal lieutenant to give bad news, delivering a quick bullet to the temple. But the body count this time was like something from an episode of Squid Game.

Gareth Southgate left out Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips and Ben Chilwell when he chose his initial 33; he chopped Jack Grealish, James Maddison and the half-fit Harry Maguire when he decided his final 26. Throw in others who have lost their places, like Mason Mount and Eric Dier, and Southgate has culled nearly 400 caps’ worth of experience since the World Cup 18 months ago.

There are 12 tournament debutants in the Euro 2024 squad, compared to only three in Qatar; the median number of caps has dropped from 23 to 12. The most common criticism of Southgate’s eight-year reign has been his faith in the same old players – loyalty to a fault – yet this squad is at the other extreme. Crystal Palace finished the season with an impressive seven-game unbeaten run and four of their players have been parachuted in.

Grealish was perhaps the most surprising omission of them all. One young girl arrived at Wembley on Friday night wearing England’s brand new away shirt (RRP £84.99) complete with GREALISH printed on the back. He is popular with the players, too, and Declan Rice mourned his exit in an interview on Thursday, shocked that one of his “best mates” in camp had left, a view echoed by the majority of the squad.

The early signs were not good for Southgate’s gamble on fresh faces. Friday night’s tepid 1-0 loss to Iceland – their final game before travelling to Germany on Monday – was disjointed and incoherent, played by a group of players who didn’t seem to know each other. That was partly because they didn’t, given Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo, Marc Guehi and Aaron Ramsdale were all involved from the start. England were booed off, and on this evidence there is plenty of work to do before their opening Euros game against Serbia next Sunday.

Gareth Southgate applauds fans after the full-time whistle (AFP via Getty Images)

So why has Southgate changed his squad so drastically so late in the day?

The debate about form versus loyalty is long-running and doesn’t have a definitive answer. It is an argument that demands nuance and a case-by-case approach, and Southgate and his staff will have considered every scenario. With a quarter-final on a knife edge, would he rather turn to his bench and see Grealish, the player who assisted Harry Kane in beating Germany at the last Euros but has barely played this year, or Gordon, who has had an impressive season for Newcastle but has never been to a senior tournament before? Evidently, Southgate would rather turn to the rookie.

There is another element to the art of squad selection, one which is about more than choosing the 26 best players England has to offer. They must form a coherent group and make up the right blend of characters. The players on the fringes must be willing to muck in, train hard, cheerlead and never mope. It is a vital, underrated demand of the coach’s job to find this balance, and Southgate has always put a lot of stock in who he works with as much as what they can do with a football.

He said as much after England’s first game at Euro 2020, describing Phillips as “low maintenance, high performance – and that’s how we like it”. Assistant Steve Holland labelled defender Conor Coady England’s player of the tournament in Qatar in 2022 – Coady didn’t play a minute but his enthusiasm and positivity rubbed off on the group.

This is exactly what they want from new recruits like Eberechi Eze, one of the loveliest men in football, alongside his obvious talent. Adam Wharton and Mainoo may be young but they are eager, mature and intelligent. They and the rest of England’s major tournament newbies are going to chase every ball in training and fight for every minute on the pitch. For the sake of squad harmony, Southgate would rather have a hungry debutant on his bench than a household name who, understandably, carries a bit of an ego and feels they should be starting games for England.

Cole Palmer, playing on the right, was a rare bright spot for England (AFP via Getty Images)

Southgate talked this week about how the new recruits have changed the environment and improved training. “Sometimes you regenerate the group more than you were expecting a couple of months ago, but that’s going to bring – and has already brought – a hunger, a competitiveness.” But he also admitted on Friday night that the process of integration is still ongoing. It will take time, and time is something England don’t have a lot of right now.

More than ever, elite football is a squad game, with the increased additional time and substitutions having an effect: more Premier League goals were scored by subs this season than ever before. It brings to mind the former England rugby head coach Eddie Jones and his euphemism for reserve players: “finishers”, he called them, designed to kill off the game. The risk is that when it comes to the sharp end of the tournament, when England need a spark off the bench in a high-pressure situation, Southgate doesn’t have an experienced option. He will likely be relying on first-timers to swing matches.

Southgate has decided he wants new names at Euro 2024. It is his boldest move yet, in what might be a final roll of the dice – his contract is up in December and it feels like the natural end point of his reign. If this is to be his final tournament, if the FA decide to place this gilded generation of talent in someone else’s hands after another knockout blow, at least he will have gone down swinging.