The 2024 UEFA European Championships are well underway now, and we’ve seen a batch of goal-filled, exciting games. England’s first match against Serbia did not match that description, but Gareth Southgate’s men got the job done regardless, coming away with a 1-0 victory thanks to an early goal from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. England fans were encouraged and positive at the sight of the starting 11 for that game, with several key names involved, but there has been a lot of debate in recent weeks about some of the players Southgate decided to cut from his provisional 33-man squad.
This scout report provides a tactical analysis of the seven players who did not make the final squad, with the analysis comparing their 2023/24 performances against those who did make Southgate’s 26-man squad. As you may know already, those seven players were Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, James Trafford, and Jarrad Branthwaite.
James Trafford
21-year-old goalkeeper James Trafford missed out on a place in Southgate’s 26-man squad, with number one keeper Jordan Pickford being backed up by Dean Henderson and Aaron Ramsdale this summer. Trafford was part of the Burnley squad that were relegated back to the Championship this season, but there is no doubt that he has a bright future ahead of him.
Becoming England’s number 1 choice between the sticks in the future is a real possibility for Trafford – the experience of Henderson and Ramsdale as Pickford’s understudies most likely played a part in Trafford’s exclusion from the squad.
Pickford boats strong percentiles for key GK metrics such as save rate % and clean sheets and trumps Trafford in many other metrics in the same area. Of course, being part of a relegated team plays a part in Trafford’s data output, as Burnley faced a lot of attacking pressure week-to-week.
Trafford offers a slightly more aggressive approach than Pickford, as evidenced by his high percentile for exits per 90. He also engages in more aerial duels. Trafford also shows potential in his in-possession work, which is a big part of why former manager Vincent Kompany brought him to Turf Moor in the first place, as he mirrors their tactics.
Harry Maguire
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is arguably the unluckiest individual on this list, as injury/fitness issues stopped him from being in Germany this summer. Maguire has been an integral part of Southgate’s set-up in recent tournaments – while his club form for United is patchy, to say the least, he has been consistently solid in an England shirt. He would certainly be in the squad and likely starting every game at the Euros if he were fit enough.
We’re comparing Maguire’s percentile output against Marc Guéhi’s as the Crystal Palace defender partnered with John Stones at the back against Serbia, so it can be argued that he took Maguire’s spot in the starting lineup. A major strength for Guéhi is his success rate in defensive duels, along with his passing proficiency, posting strong percentiles in those areas. He also has the ability to bring the ball out from defence, which is something we have seen Maguire do in an England shirt on many occasions, so we can see why Southgate opted to start Guéhi.
According to his percentile output, Maguire offers a more rounded dominance in his game, with above-average numbers for aerial duels (engagement and success rate), positioning (interceptions, etc.), and progressive passes. He also offers a higher engagement in defensive duels than Guéhi, according to their percentile outputs in the Premier League this season.
Jarrad Branthwaite
At 21 years of age, Everton centre-half Jarrad Branthwaite is many people’s pick for England’s future first-choice CB, having made a positive impression in what has been his breakthrough campaign in 23/24, featuring in 35 EPL games for the Toffees. He spent last season on loan at Eredivisie giants PSV, where he made over 30 appearances in all competitions. His tough nature as a defender offers something of a throwback to years gone by for England fans, which is why many were disappointed when Southgate decided Branthwaite isn’t ready for a major international tournament just yet.
For this one, we’ve compared Branthwaite’s statistics to those of Lewis Dunk. The Brighton defender wasn’t fancied by many England fans, especially after his less-than-pleasing outing for the Three Lions in recent months. While we may not see much of Dunk on the pitch this summer, his experience, leadership, and dressing room presence were likely all factors in Southgate selecting him – we know the England manager likes those traits throughout the squad.
Dunk also offers a different style of defender, as the data above shows—he ranks high against other LCBs in the Premier League for several in-possession metrics while also offering aerial dominance. Branthwaite seems to offer a more solid defensive option, with the element of youth on his side, offering positive percentiles for defensive and aerial duels.
Jarell Quansah
Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah has made an excellent impression in the 33 first-team appearances he’s made this season. He spent last season on loan at Bristol Rovers, and the young centre-back made the step up to first-team action at Anfield look seamless. Perhaps the player who has been somewhat overlooked/underestimated by Southgate and some England fans, Quansah, is on a path that could see numerous international tournament appearances in the future.
We’ve compared Quansah’s 23/24 percentile output to Guéhi, as they show similar profiles in possession, something Southgate highly rates in his current tactical setup. Quansah offers higher percentile rankings in several areas, though, both in and out of possession.
The Liverpool defender makes a high number of progressive passes while also showing an overall consistency and composure on the ball in general play. Guéhi does offer a higher engagement when it comes to dribbling, and as we mentioned, Southgate likes his centre-backs to be able to carry the ball out from the back into midfield. Not that Quansah doesn’t have that ability, but the data shows that Guéhi does it more often.
In terms of Quansah’s defensive contribution, there have been few defenders in the Premier League that have shown such high levels of quality and consistency when it comes to duels. In comparison to other RCBs in the 23/24 EPL, Quansah had the highest defensive duels win rate, showing just how dominant he can be – he ranked third overall in the EPL for this metric, too, winning 78.82% of his 5.72 defensive duels per 90.
As the graph above shows, he is also more than comfortable when it comes to aerial duels, being one of the top RCBs in the air in 23/24.
James Maddison
After a mixed season at club level, Tottenham Hotspur man James Maddison missed out on a spot in Southgate’s squad. While Maddison has obvious talent, he simply did not show Southgate enough to claim a spot ahead of the likes of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, or Phil Foden.
One of those aforementioned names, Cole Palmer, is the subject of a statistical comparison to Maddison’s percentile output. Palmer was selected instead of Foden and Bellingham due to the fact that if Maddison was to be included in the squad, he would offer a similar position and role to Palmer – along with Foden also playing out on the left flank and Bellingham being, frankly, irreplaceable.
As you can see from the percentile graph, Maddison and Palmer offer similar profiles, but the latter edges proceedings in some key areas. A higher number of progressive and dangerous passes and a higher goal contribution put Cole Palmer in a more favourable position. Even without looking into the data, it isn’t too difficult to see that Palmer had a better campaign than Maddison.
Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones is another Liverpool player who didn’t make the cut this summer, but this one is arguably more justifiable than Quansah. Jones, still only 23 years old, made 23 Premier League appearances this season, and while he hasn’t had a poor season with Liverpool, he would have hoped to be more consistent and have a bigger impact on the Reds’ season.
If Jones was to be involved this summer, it’s hard to imagine him playing as a 10, meaning he would be in a deeper midfield role, similar to where we’d see Conor Gallagher play. As you can see, these two players offer different profiles, but playing as an eight would have been Jones’ best chance of playing in the Euros this summer due to the quality of competition for that number 10 position.
This is where the dilemma lies for Jones – not good enough to be picked as a number 10 in this squad, but he also doesn’t offer enough of a defensive presence to be a balanced number eight in this England set-up. What could be argued, though, is that Jones would offer something different from the bench in that number eight position – his attacking data suggests he has the ability to be impactful from midfield. We’ve seen him prove that in a Liverpool shirt.
Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish is probably the biggest surprise on this list in terms of the expectation that he would be in the England squad this summer. This rings even truer following the way England scrambled to a 1-0 win against Serbia, a game in which they struggled to find that attacking creativity and impetus. In situations like that, you need someone with Grealish’s quality to unlock the opposition defence in key moments. On the other hand, though, you can understand Southgate’s decision to omit Grealish as he struggled to have a big impact on Manchester City’s season.
We’ve compared Grealish to Foden, not because Grealish would necessarily take Foden’s place if he were in the squad, but because they both offer a high level of creativity while being able to play in the middle or on the left.
As you can see, Foden’s data suggests a more productive Premier League campaign than Grealish, although the latter does offer a higher engagement when it comes to dribbling and touches in the box. One major talking point about England post-Serbia is Foden’s lack of impact in an England shirt – we know Grealish can pop up with big moments, so it is somewhat surprising that he wasn’t included.
Conclusion
Football is a game of opinions, and most, if not all, of the players on this list will have people advocating for their place in the England squad. Many of these players are still 23 and under, so they have a strong chance of representing England in future major tournaments, but equally, all players on this list will be disappointed not to be included.
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