The top ten players dropped from Euro 2024 squads
After years of planning and expectation, the 2024 European Championship season is almost upon us.
In less than one week, 24 European nations and thousands of fans will congregate in Germany for the 17th edition of the tournament.
Expectations are high, and fans are already purchasing their Euro 2024 tickets in anticipation of the opening game between Germany and Scotland on June 14th.
National teams have submitted the names of the 26 players they want on the plane to Germany as required.
Some top names have been included, while some big players everyone expected to be part of the tournament have been left at home despite how well they played this season.
Some of these missing big names are absent through injury and suspension, while some have been completely snubbed by their coaches for reasons other than fitness and unavailability due to suspension.
In this article, we look at the top ten players snubbed by their national team coaches.
Thibaut Courtois–Belgium
Thibaut Courtois’s omission from Belgium's 2024 European Championship squad final list is arguably the most shocking snub of this summer's event.
The Belgian shot-stopper remains one of the best goalies in the world and proved his shot-stopping ability in the Champions League final with a string of fine saves against Borussia Dortmund.
The Champions League final was his fourth start of the season, as he had been absent for most of the season because of an ACL injury. Yet, he returned in style and proved that his injury did not affect his quality.
However, despite his recent return to availability, Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco has decided against bringing the experienced goalkeeper with the squad.
The goalkeeper’s omission from the team is not because of his lack of match fitness but because of a very public and very bitter bust-up with Tedesco.
The pair fell out last summer when the Belgian coach claimed that Courtois missed the Euro 2024 qualifier with Estonia because he was upset at not being given the captain's armband.
Tedesco also revealed that he wanted to include him in the European Championship squad this summer but that the goalkeeper didn't feel ready to go.
Courtois responded by effectively calling Tedesco a liar on social media with three Pinocchio emojis. The 32-year-old also claimed that although he still wants to "sort things out like two adults", he seems to have no interest in working with Tedesco.
Meanwhile, in place of Courtois, Tedesco has called up Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town) and Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest). None of these goalkeepers is as good as Courtois, making the Real Madrid man’s snub the most shocking.
Mats Hummels–Germany
Mats Hummels’ omission from the Germany squad is one of the most shocking snubs in this year’s European Championship simply because the defender was among the best players in the Champions League this season.
The Dortmund man was one of the big names snubbed by Germany manager Julain Nagelsmann for the summer event. However, his snub is one that no one expected, given his form in Europe this year.
Before the UCL final, the 35-year-old was ranked first in tackles won (27) and duels on (79) and made more interceptions (21) and clearances (62) than any other player in the competition, while he also ranked second for possession won (77).
Even more impressive is that Hummels was not just rooted in defence, heading and booting the ball away at every opportunity.
The defender was also good with the ball at his feet and was involved in the game, as only four players covered more ground than the veteran centre-back (120.1 kilometres) in the UCL.
However, none of these stats convinced Nagelsmann to call him up. The 36-year-old Germany boss preferred to call up his centre-back partner Nico Schlotterbeck and Stutggart’s Waldemar Anton, who has just two Gwrmany caps.
Although Nagelsmann hinted that he chose to omit the 35-year-old Hummels due to his fitness and age, his critics point to the inclusion of Thomas Muller, who is around the same age and has not had a better season than Hummels.
Marcus Rashford–England
Manchester United’s striker Marcus Rashford is another big player who will not be travelling to Germany this summer.
The 26-year-old has been an ever-present fixture in the England squad under Gareth Southgate, scoring 16 out of his 17 goals for England under Southgate.
The Manchester United man has been on the squads for the last four major tournaments with the Three Lions.
He netted three times at the 2022 World Cup and scored two goals in Euro 2024 qualifiers last year.
However, following an underwhelming campaign in which he scored just seven goals in 33 Premier League games, the forward has been left out of the squad this time around.
However, unlike Courtois and Hummels, Rashford's omission is understandable as he had a very underwhelming season with United.
Reece James–England
Like Rashford’s omission from the national team, Reece James' snub for the European Championship is also understandable, as the defender has been injured for much of the 2023/24 season.
The Chelsea captain is arguably one of the best right-backs in the world. However, he endured a miserable season, making just eleven appearances for the Blues this season due to fitness issues.
He also capped up the season with a bad red card (his second direct red card this season), meaning that he will miss the first two league games next season.
Although he is fit and could be a valuable asset in Germany, England’s strength in depth in the right-back position means he is way down the pecking order.
The Three Lions currently have John Stones, Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier, all able to play on the right side of the defensive line, making dropping James an easy choice for Southgate,
Pedro Porro-Spain
Despite enjoying an impressive season at Tottenham, Luis de la Fuente will not take Pedro Porro to Germany.
The Spurs full-back set up seven Premier League goals during the last campaign and caught the eye with his attacking quality, but surprisingly, he did not make the cut for the Spain squad.
De la Fuente has instead chosen Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal as his only option for the right-back berth, a move that is even more surprising than Porro’s snub.
Should the 32-year-old Real Madrid captain, who has played 41 games this season, get injured in Germany, Spain will have no direct replacement.
Michael Olise–France
Michael Olise set himself apart as one of the Premier League's best wingers this season with several top performances for Crystal Palace.
The winger scored ten goals and assisted six in just 19 league games for Palace in the 2023/24 season.
However, that was not enough to give him a place in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the European Championship.
Even more surprising is that Deschamps has called up Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani, two players who had fewer goal contributions than Olise despite playing more games than the Palace forward.
Jack Grealish–England
Although it is no secret that England is blessed with multiple attacking talents, Gareth Southgate’s Jack Grealish omission from the England squad for Euro 2024 is shocking.
The Manchester City man may have played a bit-part role in his side’s Premier League title win this season, but he remains one of England’s best attackers.
Grealish is a 100 million pound player with magic on his feet and proved it in England’s most recent friendly win over Bosnia.
Yet Southgate has left him at home, favouring the likes of Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer, and Jarrod Bowen over the City man.
Jean-Clair Todibo–France
Jean-Clair Todibo is another player Didier Deschamps left out of his Euro 2024 squad, which has left many tongues wagging.
The 24-year-old has caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs following his performances for OGC Nice. However, Deschamps has not been convinced and has left him at home.
His absence could have been understandable, given that France is well-stocked in defence. Still, it is surprising that Dayot Upamecano was given his place instead, as the Bayern Munich man has had a poor season.
Pedro Goncalves–Portugal
After a brilliant season with Sporting Lisbon in which he scored 18 goals and contributed 14 assists in all competitions, Pedro Goncalves would be asking what else he needs to do to qualify for the national team.
The 25-year-old was one of Portugal’s best attackers but has been snubbed by Roberto Martinez.
The Spanish coach has called up 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the five-time Ballon d’Or winner playing in Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps Goncalves would be in Germany this summer if he wasn’t playing for Portugal.
Manuel Locatelli–Italy
Manuel Locatelli was one of the influential members of the Italy team that won the European Championship three years ago, making five appearances and scoring two goals.
The 26-year-old has been solid this season for Juventus, making 42 appearances for the Turin club. But he has been dropped by Lucian Spalletti.
The former Napoli boss has elected to call up 22-year-old Samuele Ricci and Nicolo Fagioli. Fagioli receives his first call-up since making his only previous appearance for Italy in November 2022 - despite missing almost the entire season through suspension for illegal betting activity.
