James Maddison has become the first player to be cut from Gareth Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad for Euro 2024.
The Tottenham midfielder left St George’s Park on Wednesday night, according to widespread reports, after learning he was one of the seven players who would be omitted when the final 26-man squad is submitted to UEFA on Friday evening.
The 27-year-old came off the bench in England’s 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia in Newcastle on Monday night but has seemingly fallen down the pecking order after a season which saw his fine form interrupted by a serious ankle injury.
It hasn’t sunk in… I’m going to The World Cup😭 Dreams really do come true😢🏴🏆 pic.twitter.com/DeKTECv3XT
— James Maddison (@Madders10) November 10, 2022
Maddison began the campaign superbly after a £40m transfer from Leicester, winning the Premier League’s player of the month award in the opening month of the season and registering three goals and five assists in Tottenham’s first nine Premier League games.
He started in the No10 position in Southgate’s experimental line-up in England’s friendly against Australia in October, but suffered ankle ligament damage in his side’s ill-fated Premier League defeat to Chelsea in early November.
The injury saw him miss 10 Premier League matches and, with Tottenham suffering an injury crisis of their own, he was rushed back to face Brentford on January 31.
Though he started 16 of Spurs’ final 17 games, his early-season form never returned and he was left on the bench by Ange Postecoglou for Spurs’ 2-0 defeat at Chelsea in May.
Maddison did return to the side for the final four matches, assisting goals in the wins over Burnley and Sheffield United in the final week of the season, but he failed to make much of an impact in his 30 minutes off the bench against at St James Park while starrters Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen and fellow-sub Jack Grealish all caught the eye more.
On Friday night England face Iceland at Wembley in tbeir final warm-up match before this summer’s tournament in Germany, where their group campaign begins against Serbia on June 16.
Maddison made the final 26 for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but did not make an appearance as England went out against France in the quarter-finals.
Fans on social media pointed out he had updated his instagram bio on Wednesday night, removing the word England.
