Euro 2024: England squad, starting XI and tournament odds

With a summer full of international football fast approaching, Ladbrokes takes you through England’s Euro 2024 squad, their chances of winning the tournament, and what we expect their starting line-up to be.

England are the favourites going into the tournament this summer, with odds of 3/1. They’re priced ahead of the likes of France (10/3) and Spain (8/1), and even tournament hosts Germany (5/1).

Looking at the talent Gareth Southgate has at his disposal, both in terms of his main squad and starting XI, it’s hard to argue with the bookies in their assessment of the Three Lions as the front-runners for Euro 2024.

Ladbrokes takes you through what we’ve deemed to be their perfect 23-man squad for Euro 2024, as well as their ideal starting XI.

At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether or not countries competing at Euro 2024 will be able to take 23 or 26 players to the tournament. We’ll give you the 23 people we think Southgate should take, as well as three men waiting in the wings should he be able to select a bigger squad.

• Goalkeepers - Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Dean Henderson
• Defenders - Harry Maguire, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Joe Gomez, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier
• Midfielders - Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Koibbe Mainoo, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison, Trent Alexander-Arnold
• Attackers - Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins.
• Reserves - Ivan Toney, Marcus Rashford, Ben Chilwell
  

There are no real surprises in our ideal England squad for Euro 2024, with Palmer ahead of Rashford being possibly the only real contentious point. However, given that he’s leading the Premier League goalscoring charts in his first proper season playing in men’s senior football, it’s hard to argue that Cole doesn’t deserve to be on the plane to Germany, with some even thinking he’s done enough to warrant a starting place.

This writer would have liked to have seen Curtis Jones in the England squad, but given that he’s never featured for his country, it’s unlikely that Southgate will include him in his 23-man squad for Euro 2024. However, expect the Liverpool midfielder to start being picked for the squads following the tournament, as we look forward to the World Cup in 2026.

Taking the 23-man squad that we’d like to see Southgate take to Euro 2024, below is the starting XI that we think the England boss should be lining up with at the tournament.

A lot of the debate surrounding England’s team is whether Kyle Walker plays at right-back, if Trent Alexander-Arnold plays in defence or midfield, and how he can fit both Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden into his team, and we think we’ve found a solution.

The team sees Pickford in goal, with Walker lining up in defence alongside John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, if the latter is fit after an injury plagued season. If not, Ben Chilwell should get the nod as England’s only other established left-back.

We’re having Trent in midfield alongside Rice and Bellingham, a three that has the quality and balance to thrive on the international stage against the biggest and best players.

As for the forward line, we’ll have Phil Foden off the left, which may not be is best position, but Southgate could have him and Bellingham rotating so the Man City man can still pop up in central areas, which has proved to be successful for him his campaign. On the right it’s Bukayo Saka, who still has enough to see off Cole Palmer and earn a spot in the team, and it’s Harry Kane leading the line, of course.

As noted, England are 3/1 to win Euro 2024, viewed by the bookies and many pundits and fans alike as the favourites for this summer’s tournament. A lot of that has to do with the form of their key men, with Saka, Foden, Kane and Bellingham all arguably playing the football of their careers this season.

However, England have always had talented squads, especially with the Golden Generation that boasted the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes. It’ll be up to Southgate to get the top talent to gel together, playing as a team rather than individuals, if he wants to win England its first Euros.

Prior to Euro 2024 kicking off, England play friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland on June 3 and 7 respectively, before the play their first tournament game on June 16.

England have been drawn in Group C, and will kick off their games against Serbia on 16 June in Gelsenkirchen, before moving on to Frankfurt where they’ll play Denmark four days later on June 20. England will conclude their group games in Cologne on June 25, where they’ll play Slovenia.

Should the Three Lions win the group, which they are expected to do, England will play one of the best third-placed teams in Gelsenkirchen on June 30, should they finish second, they’ll play the winners of Group A on June 29 instead.

View the latest football odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.