Four Euro 2024 squad rules you probably didn’t know about
Nations must submit their final squads for Euro 2024 today, a week before the tournament kicks off in Germany.
It isn’t as simple as naming his best 26 players, however, as governing body Uefa has rules on squad composition.
And the dream of playing at Euro 2024 isn’t necessarily over for those names cut from England’s training squad.
Here are the squad rules that Gareth Southgate, the Football Association and all of the other 23 nations competing this summer must abide by.
When is the Euro 2024 squad deadline?
The hard deadline for England to name their Euro 2024 squad is the evening of Friday 7 June. Competition rules state that the FA must submit the list online and send a signed copy to Uefa HQ.
After some of the names set to be cut from the squad leaked out, however, Southgate confirmed his England squad a day early.
How big are Euro 2024 squads?
Nations were originally going to be limited to just 23 players, as was traditional in pre-Covid times.
Squad sizes were increased for the last, pandemic-affected edition in 2021, and some coaches and FAs successfully lobbied Uefa to raise the limit once again to 26.
Can managers pick whoever they like?
Any maverick coaches tempted to roll the dice and take just two goalkeepers, think again; Uefa stipulates that all squads must have three stoppers.
Can teams call up injury replacements?
If any of the 26 players in England’s squad get injured or become ill after the squad’s submission, replacements can be called up in specific circumstances.
Any outfield players who get crocked or sick can be replaced before the first game of Euro 2024 on Friday 14 June, but not once the tournament is underway.
For goalkeepers, there is more leeway. They can be called up in the event of an injury to another stopper at any point during the competition.
But this isn’t a cheat code to replace an underperforming player; Uefa’s own medical committee must confirm that the ailment is bad enough before a stand-in can be summoned.