Twitter reacts to England squad announcement for opening Euro 2024 qualifiers

Gareth Southgate has announced the 25-player England squad which is due to face off against Italy and Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifiers in the coming weeks, and there were plenty of surprise omissions and inclusions.

The biggest omission was undoubtedly 82-cap international Raheem Sterling, who has endured a rather testing season at Chelsea under Graham Potter. The forward has managed just seven goals in all competitions this season thus far, and struggled to get into the Chelsea lineup for a lengthy period.

Despite this form, Sterling has been one of England’s most consistent performers down the years, scoring 20 goals for his country.

Despite Southgate prefacing the decision to leave Sterling out as being down to fitness, it’s fair to say football Twitter was shocked by the decision:

Sterling’s omittance from the squad meant that there was a place up for grabs – a place that was taken by in-form striker Ivan Toney.

The Brentford man was recently charged with alleged breaches of betting rules and, as such, he certainly wasn’t guaranteed a place in the squad.

But plenty of fans were delighted to see him back in the fold given his sensational goalscoring form in the Premier League.

Other call ups were, let’s just say, less enthusiastically reacted to on Twitter.

The decision to have Harry Maguire, Mason Mount and Kalvin Phillips caused particular ire.

Phillips has played just 56 minutes of Premier League football at Manchester City this season, while Maguire and Mount’s form have both been questioned recently.