Euro 2024 England squad analysis: Rashford on the fringes as final decision edges closer

England Euro 2024 squad analysis

England manager Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, and one or two big names may be anxiously waiting to see if they make this list.

England have been installed as 3-1 favourites for the tournament in Germany and all eyes are on Southgate as he continues the process of whittling down towards a definitive 26-man selection.

There will be plenty of obvious names on the final squad list but there are issues to resolve across all areas of the pitch and the scramble for attacking berths looks especially intense due to the quality at Southgate's disposal.

Marcus Rashford was England's joint-top scorer at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with three goals, but he will be among a number of players under the microscope.

Six of the top 11 goalscorers in this season's Premier League are English players and they include 19-goal Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke, who is 9-1 to board the plane to Germany.

Southgate's Qatar 2022 World Cup squad included two out-and-out central strikers – Harry Kane and Callum Wilson – plus Rashford, who prefers playing of the left but can operate through the middle.

This time he seems absolutely certain to select Kane and Ollie Watkins, who has had an outstanding season for Aston Villa.

That leaves potentially one more centre-forward slot to compete for and there are several players in contention, including Rashford, who looks a short price at 8-13 to get the nod.

Rashford has had a poor season, scoring seven Premier League goals and, even if he makes the provisional squad, he may need a positive performance in Saturday's FA Cup final to give Southgate a final nudge.

Rivals for Rashford's position include Ivan Toney, who opened his England account in March with a goal in the 2-2 friendly draw with Belgium, and Jarrod Bowen, who has had a superb season for West Ham, scoring 16 league goals.

Toney and Bowen are also odds-on to make the final cut but neither price appeals given they are potentially in a three-way battle with Rashford for just one slot.

There seems to be less of a debate over the wider attacking positions.

Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer look nailed on to be selected and Anthony Gordon seems a fairly solid 2-5 shot given his consistent efforts for Newcastle across multiple competitions.

Jack Grealish and James Maddison, priced up at 4-7 and 1-3, could be more vulnerable if Southgate decides he wants to make room for a surprise inclusion or two.

Eberechi Eze, a best-priced 6-5, is likely to be in the frame after his impressive finish to the season with Crystal Palace and Jadon Sancho, who is a 3-1 shot, cannot be entirely discounted after reviving his career while on loan at Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.

Other potential wild cards for attacking positions could be Liverpool's Harvey Elliott and Chelsea's Noni Madueke, who have excelled in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Elliott gets a 7-1 quote while Madueke is available at 40-1.

Midfield is another interesting area due to the lack of depth.

Six recognised midfielders were picked for Qatar 2022 and they included Kalvin Phillips and Mason Mount, who appear unlikely to be selected this summer.

Kobbie Mainoo looks a fairly certain 1-3 shot to fill one of those vacancies but there is a further position up for grabs and it might allow Southgate room to make a surprise inclusion.

Adam Wharton – one of the driving forces behind Palace's strong finish – looks attractively priced at 3-1 and Sean Longstaff, such a consistent presence in Newcastle's midfield, might not be the no-hoper which his 50-1 odds suggest.

Southgate also has some decisions to make around the full-back positions but those may be heavily influenced by injury updates.

Kieran Trippier, Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw and Reece James are priced up at 1-4 , 1-2, 4-7 and 2-1 but all have had their injury problems.

Joe Gomez has been more robust and his ability to play in multiple positions could explain why he is just 4-6 to make the cut.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke is expected to name his final 26-man squad on Wednesday and he has plenty of injury issues to contend with.

Bologna attacking midfielder Lewis Ferguson is out of contention with a knee problem and there are huge question marks over Brentford wingback Aaron Hickey and Luton forward Jacob Brown, who have been recovering from serious injuries.

However, Billy Gilmour has shaken off a knee issue and Southampton forward Ross Stewart can be added to the pool of attacking options after recovering from a long-term hamstring strain.

There has been further recent good news after influential left-sided defender Kieran Tierney shook off a muscle strain to start consecutive La Liga matches for Real Sociedad.

The Scots kick off their campaign against hosts Germany in Munich on Friday, June 14, and they can be backed at 125-1 to lift the trophy.

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.