Southgate won’t gamble on player fitness in Euro 2024 squad

England players hoping to take part in next year’s European Championship in Germany will need to ensure their fitness is up to scratch, manager Gareth Southgate has said, as UEFA reduced the size allowed for the squad. 23-player team.

Squad sizes were increased from 23 to 26 in the previous edition of the Euros to mitigate the risks of teams facing a shortage of players available for some matches due to possible COVID cases. 19 and quarantine measures.

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At Euro 2020, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson were part of the England squad while still recovering from injuries, while at last year’s World Cup, Kyle Walker, James Maddison and Kalvin Phillips were included despite similar issues.

“We can take a lot fewer risks than in the last two tournaments where there were 26,” Southgate told reporters ahead of England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia.

“The size of the team makes the thought process different because you had that leeway in the last two tournaments to select players who weren’t fit for the first two games.

“This time the physical condition of the players is going to be really important. The ability of the players to play six, seven games… If you can only take two for each position, players who adapt are useful.”

England, already qualified for Euro 2024, leads Group C with 19 points from seven matches. They will face North Macedonia in Skopje on Monday.