Little-known rule forcing Gareth Southgate’s hand as he cuts England squad down to 26 for Euro 2024
GARETH SOUTHGATE will only be allowed to name 23 outfield players in his Euros squad due to strict Uefa rules.
Guidelines for the tournament state all squads must include three keepers for the competition.
Gareth Southgate has some big decisions to make before the Friday midnight deadlineGetty
The maximum squad size is 26 players, but nations cannot bring fewer than three keepers to try and free up space for an outfield position.
Article 48.01 reads: “Each association must provide the UEFA administration with a list of 23 to 26 players (surnames, first names, club and date of birth) as well as the surnames, first names and date of birth of the head coach and assistant coach, mentioning their coaching qualifications.”
It then crucially adds: “Three of these 23 to 26 players must be goalkeepers.”
The rule, which is also enforced for Fifa tournaments, caught out North Korea at the 2010 World Cup.
They registered striker Kim Myong-won as a keeper in the hope of playing him outfield.
However, Fifa became aware of North Korea’s attempts to circumvent the rules and intervened.
They released a statement saying: “The three players listed as goalkeepers can only play as goalkeepers during the World Cup and cannot play outfield.
“This will be communicated to the teams in the team arrival meetings and will be enforced on match days.”
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They also added: “Kim Myong-won will not be allowed to play as an outfield player if he has been put on the list as a goalkeeper.”
Kim did not play a single minute at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Southgate has already axed James Maddison and Curtis Jones from his final Euros squad. Burnley keeper James Trafford has also been left out after being a surprise inclusion in the 33-man training squad.
Jarell Quansah is also expected to be left behind.
Others who remain uncertain of their place heading into England‘s final friendly against Iceland on Friday include Jarrad Branthwaite, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Luke Shaw, Adam Wharton, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney.
