England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed his final 26-man squad for the European Championship, with Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire the headline absentees.
Grealish, Maguire, James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, James Trafford and Jarrad Branthwaite are the seven players to miss out.
That is good news for Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, as it means Southgate will take three strikers to Germany, with the pair joining captain Harry Kane on the plane to Germany.
It also means that Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton will be part of the 26-man squad, despite only making his England debut against Bosnia on Monday night.
Grealish was said to be stunned by the news that he will not be part of the squad after making an impact as a substitute in the victory over Bosnia after linking up with England early.
Despite a difficult season for his club, Manchester City, the omission of Grealish not only caused surprise within the England camp, but also outside it. One sporting director at a top Premier League club contacted Telegraph Sport to say: “How can the England manager leave out a player who can make such a big difference from the bench? Crazy.”
Maguire is devastated that he was not able to recover from a calf injury in time to make the 26-man squad.
In a post on Instagram, Maguire said: “I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer.
“Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted.”
Maguire was one of three players, along with Luke Shaw and Lewis Dunk, not to train with the rest of the squad on Thursday ahead of Friday night’s final warm-up game against Iceland.
But Shaw and Dunk are both in line to be named in Southgate’s 26-man squad, along with Joe Gomez and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa.
With Maguire missing out, Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is in line to be the first-choice partner to John Stones in the centre of defence for the entirety of the Euros.
Southgate’s 26-man squad will have a distinct attacking look to it with three defenders and a goalkeeper being cut from his initial 33-man party and both Watkins and Toney earning places.
It is understood that Toney went to see Southgate this week after not playing at all against Bosnia and was reassured that he will be given a chance.