"I feel like I should have been in the squad" - 'Heartbroken' Jack Grealish breaks his silence on being left out of England's Euro 2024 squad
Jack Grealish has opened up about missing out on a place in England's squad for Euro 2024 and says he was heartbroken. The Manchester City star was one of a few high-profile names who failed to make Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad.
Grealish, 28, made Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for the Euros in Germany. He appeared in a 3-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in June but didn't make the final cut for the tournament in Germany.
The City attacker was devastated not to have appeared at Euro 2024 and feels he should have made the squad. He said (via BBC Sport):
"It was probably football-wise the most difficult thing I've ever had to deal with in terms of my own career. I was aboslutely heartbroken."
He added:
"I felt like I should have been in the squad. I'm sure that any person that didn't get picked in the squad, whether that's myself or any of the other players, would have thought the same. If I sit here and say that 'I don't feel like I should have been in the squad', You're gonna be thinking, 'What's this guy's thinking?' So of course I feel I should have been in the squad, I feel like I offer something different to players in the England squad."
Jack Grealish was a prominent member of England's squad during Euro 2024 qualifiers. The former Aston Villa captain debuted on the international scene in September 2020 and has posted two goals and eight assists in 36 caps.
The versatile winger struggled for form at the Etihad last season, scoring three goals and providing as many assists in 36 games across competitions. That came after a glowing 2022-23 campaign in which he was instrumental in City's continental treble triumph.
England headed to Germany without Grealish and finished runners-up for the second consecutive Euros. They lost 2-1 to Spain in the final, and Southgate resigned.
"Other players have had stronger seasons" - Gareth Southgate on Jack Grealish's Euro 2024 England squad snub
Southgate gave his reasons for leaving the likes of Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford out of England's squad for Euro 2024 before the tournament. The former Three Lions boss alluded to the form of other attackers (via The Mirror):
"The fact is we have players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons."
Grealish missed out on a place in the final 26-man squad for the Euros, and Southgate made some bold selections. Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, and Anthony Gordon were selected ahead of the City winger.
Neither of the trio were starters for England at Euro 2024, and Southgate rarely changed his starting XI. Although they lacked creativity, they were unbeaten until the final.