James Maddison delivers ‘honest’ reaction to being axed from England’s Euro 2024 squad

James Maddison has acknowledged he is distraught at being dropped from the England squad ahead of Euro 2024 this summer - and says he believes he offers enough to warrant a place in the 26-man squad.

The Tottenham Hotspur playmaker was among 33 chosen by Gareth Southgate in a large preliminary squad, but was informed he’d be missing out of the eventual group heading to Germany and departed the training camp, despite being in line to start against Iceland in the final pre-tournament warm-up fixture on Friday.

Maddison took to social media to explain he felt he could “bring something different” to the Three Lions group and suggested he had been a “mainstay” throughout qualifying - he appeared in three of England’s eight games and was an unsused sub in three more - but also noted his displays during the second half of 2023/24 were not up to scratch.

Curtis Jones is also leaving England’s squad, with five more still to be axed by Southgate by Friday night, when the final squad must be submitted to Uefa.

Maddison has won seven caps and was in the World Cup squad in 2022, but did not feature there and only played 29 minutes off the bench against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night.

“Devastated doesn’t quite cut it,” Maddison said on his social media posts. “Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.

“I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26 man squad as I feel I bring something different & had been a mainstay in this whole qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany but the manager has made the decision and I have to respect that. I’ll be back, I have no doubt.

“Wishing the boys all the luck in the world out in Germany, unbelievable group and lads that I literally call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.”

Maddison was behind the likes of Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham as definite inclusions in the squad, with others including Jack Grealish, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon among those still hoping to go as alternatives in the attacking midfield roles for Southgate.

England play Serbia, Slovenia and Denmark in the group stage, with Euro 2024 starting on 14 June.