England's Euro 2024 squad: Who's on the plane?

England's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign couldn't really have gone much better for Gareth Southgate, who can now look forward to leading the Three Lions at a fourth major international tournament.

The trip over to Germany may end up being Southgate's last hurrah as England boss, and he can certainly look back on a job well done escaping a group containing Euro 2020 winners Italy and the always dangerous Ukraine with barely a scratch.

England won six of their eight games - completing an impressive double over Italy in the process - and took a home of share of the spoils in their other two; the 1-1 draw with North Macedonia disappointing but certainly not the end of the world.

Attention now turns to who Southgate will take with him to Euro 2024, with England's squad depth and emerging young talent leading to high, high expectations from many.

Some players are guaranteed to be boarding the plane to Germany, others will feel confident in where they're currently at, while some will know there's plenty of work to do between now and the end of the 2023/24 domestic season.

Here's how things are currently shaping up for the Three Lions.

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On standby

England's strength in depth is pretty good in most areas of the pitch, meaning some notable Premier League performers may not even get a sniff of getting into the squad.

There's been a swell of support for West Ham's James Ward-Prowse on social media, but he's been unable to force his way into the reckoning even though England had already qualified by the time they played Malta and North Macedonia.

Likewise, Ben White has admirers for his ability at both centre-back and right-back, but he doesn't appear to be in the thinking at present.

James Trafford, Ezri Konsa, Tyrick Mitchell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Eddie Nketiah and Anthony Gordon are six other players who could stake a claim if they continue to excel at club level, but they will need to turn it on and hope the form of others falls by the wayside.

At the airport hotel

Southgate has been accused of having his 'favourites' in the past, with selections often at odds with the core principle of needing to play regular club football.

That line of thinking has certainly cost Fikayo Tomori an England spot in squads gone by, and he could again be left waiting at the hotel for others to pick up injury niggles. Joining him could be newcomers to the international scene, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze, while Mason Mount appears to face an uphill battle getting back into Southgate's plans.

Ivan Toney can't be discounted despite his lengthy ban from Football, but will know that an instant impact must be made once he gets playing Premier League Football once more. Jarrod Bowen, who earned a call-up for the November qualifiers after his red-hot start to the 2023/24 campaign, must keep scoring goals to make himself an indispensable third option on the right.

Rico Lewis also falls into the waiting game category after impressing on his first start at left-back, while Nick Pope looks on with envy in the goalkeeping ranks.

Waiting at the gate

If Trent Alexander-Arnold hadn't shifted into midfield, it's unlikely he'd have been getting any kind of gig in an England shirt.

But now that he has transitioned into a deep-lying playmaker role, Southgate arguably has a bigger headache when it comes to balancing out his squad. Reece James, Levi Colwill, Lewis Dunk and Ben Chilwell will feel they've got good claims for filling out England's defensive options, leaving Alexander-Arnold tustling with the likes of Conor Gallagher and Kalvin Phillips for a central midfield berth.

Again, much will depend on the balance Southgate wants - he's known to be pragmatic and more defensive-minded when it comes to tournament football - and the waiting room at the airport gate could be filled with nervous players.

Callum Wilson and a currently-struggling Marcus Rashford may be there too alongside Raheem Sterling, who surely can't be discounted from making the cut if he continues to get up to speed at Chelsea.

Aaron Ramsdale is also sweating over his place after falling out of favour at Arsenal.

Ready to board

With just 23 places up for grabs, it'll be interesting to see how many defenders, midfielders and forwards Southgate opts to take.

Two full-back slots are likely to be taken by the experienced Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw, providing the latter can slot back into Manchester United's side after injury, and the role of centre-back understudy is currently looking good for Marc Guehi. The same can be said in the goalkeeper stakes for Sam Johnstone, particularly now Aaron Ramsdale is on the sidelines at Arsenal.

Jordan Henderson, despite his Saudi move, still looks to be an important player for Southgate, and James Maddison would be desperately unlucky to be overlooked regardless of his recent injury woe.

Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins will feel good about themselves too, though the former will be mindful of his minutes dwindling at Manchester City.

Flying business class

There's always a core of around eight or nine players absolutely nailed on to go to any major international tournament (as long as they're fit) and things are no different for England.

Captain Harry Kane, check.

Two of the world's best central midfielders, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, check.

The tried and tested defensive unit of Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and John Stones, check.

Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, two young attacking stars who could reach the very top of the game, check.

With nine dead certs, Southgate must now decide the other 14 players he'll task with trying to end England men's 58 years of hurt.

READ MORE ON ENGLAND'S SQUAD OPTIONS AHEAD OF EURO 2024