Gareth Southgate has expressed optimism about Cole Palmer’s prospects for joining England’s Euro 2024 team, stating that his absence from recent games was due to a slight injury.
Palmer, who has shone for Chelsea this season, was not part of the squad for the match against Brazil, although Southgate had anticipated his return for the Belgium game.
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Despite being a substitute on Tuesday, Palmer did not play, with Southgate opting for Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, and James Maddison as England sought an equalizer.
Southgate disclosed that Palmer’s inconsistent training prior to the game was the reason for his non-participation. Nevertheless, Palmer is still a strong candidate for the Euros, even with the intense competition for forward positions in the team.
‘I said when I named the squad there is competition for places in those wide areas,’ explained Southgate.
‘A bit of a shame that Cole Palmer missed so much training that we weren’t able to put him into the game [against Belgium] at the stage it was having missed most of the week.
‘We weren’t 100 per cent certain what we would get whereas with Gordon we knew and Maddison we knew. I wouldn’t rule Cole out of that equation.’
Jack Grealish missed the international break but Southgate says he is still part of England’s thinking, continuing: ‘Jack’s definitely not out of the picture.
‘I spoke to him before I named the squad. But as I said when I named the squad, Gordon and [Jarrod] Bowen are pushing those guys.
‘I think Anthony Gordon has been excellent for his club. And obviously Marcus Rashford got on in the first game. But I wanted to see Gordon again. I thought James Maddison coming on would have an impact and Bowen has also had a really good camp. So there’s competition for places.’
Southgate also suggested England might be one of several nations who push for expanded squad size – from 23 players to 26 – to cover for any injuries after another demanding club season.
‘There is one more Uefa meeting where there’s been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that,’ he said.
‘We’ve got to make the best decisions [regarding selection] with what we know and some of those currently are going to be medical decisions. We’ve been able to get those right in the previous [two] tournaments. We’ve been able to give people time [to recover, having named them in the squad]. But with 23 that’s definitely more difficult.’
