Tottenham playmaker James Maddison said “devastated doesn’t quite cut it” after he was omitted from England manager Gareth Southgate’s final squad for Euro 2024.
The 27-year-old was part of Southgate’s initial 33-man selection but has been told he will be among the seven players to be cut from the squad when the final 26 for the tournament in Germany is announced on Saturday.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has also missed out and both have left the England camp prior to the team’s last warm-up friendly against Iceland at Wembley on Friday.
“I 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,” said Maddison.
“I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26-man squad as I feel I bring something different and 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.”
Maddison played in England’s friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday, coming off the bench in the 3-0 win at St James’ Park.
He has seven senior England caps and was part of Southgate’s squad for the 2022 World Cup, although he did not make an appearance in Qatar.
He joined Tottenham in a £40m move from Leicester City last summer but endured an inconsistent season after a strong start was disrupted by injury.
He added: “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.”
England start their Euro 2024 campaign with a Group C game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on 16 June, before games against Denmark on 20 June and Slovenia on 25 June.
