England’s Starting Lineup For Euro 2024 Was Predicted in 2019

England, despite not being at their best during Euro 2024, have made it all the way to the final. After topping their group, England were staring at a last 16 when they trailed Slovakia going into stoppage-time. But they managed to turn it around and further victories against Switzerland and Spain in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively have seen them book their place in the final, where they will face Spain.

Because of quality players such as Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, and Harry Kane, as well as their strength in depth, England will fancy their chances of ending their 58-year trophy drought.

They are not the only names in the England squad to have become increasingly important in the last few years, however, and that is perfectly evidenced by the predicted teams for the 2024 tournament. Back in 2019, talkSPORT attempted to guess who would be in England’s starting lineup for the competition. Let’s take a look to see how their predictions have fared with the final on the horizon.

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Goalkeeper: Dean Henderson

England caps: 1

Back in 2019, Dean Henderson was 22 years old and impressing on loan in the Premier League with Sheffield United. However, his career has not panned out as many expected it would. Henderson failed to establish himself at Manchester United and his time at the club came to an end this summer when he made the £20m move to Crystal Palace. Since then, he has endured an injury-struck campaign, making just 18 league appearances – but that was enough for him to get the call-up to England’s Euro 2024 side.

On the international stage, Henderson has made just one appearance for his country, coming against the Republic of Ireland in 2020.

Right-Back: Trent Alexander-Arnold

England caps: 29

While Trent Alexander-Arnold is an extremely talented player and is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League, he hasn’t always been a regular under Gareth Southgate. The Liverpool star was named in England’s squad for the 2022 World Cup but made just one appearance during the tournament, a 34-minute cameo against Wales in England’s final group game.

Alexander-Arnold was included in the England squad in Germany and started the tournament off playing in midfield. But he has since lost his starting berth and will almost certainly be named among the substitutes for the final.

Centre-Back: John Stones

England caps: 78

A very solid choice from talkSPORT. John Stones has emerged as one of the most impressive defenders in the world, playing a key role in a Manchester City side that dominated European football in the 2022/23 campaign and won a fourth consecutive Premier League title this season following. The ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’ has continued his impressive showings into 23/24, playing a variety of roles for Pep Guardiola across 16 league outings as the Cityzens won the league title and prepare for an FA Cup final, too.

Southgate is a big fan of the 29-year-old, with Stones being an ever-present during England’s Euro 2020, 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024 campaigns.

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Centre-Back: Fikayo Tomori

England caps: 5

Back in 2019, Fikayo Tomori had just completed a successful loan spell with Derby County and was trying to make the grade at Chelsea. He failed to become a regular at his boyhood club and eventually made a £25m move to AC Milan. The Canada-born defender has enjoyed great success in Italy, being named in the Serie A Team of the Year as AC Milan won their nineteenth league title in 2021.

Despite thriving in Italy, Tomori has found game time for England hard to come by, having made just five appearances for his country. Southgate has spent a while assessing multiple options at centre-back and so the Rossoneri defender will be forced to watch his country in action from home.

Left-Back: Ben Chilwell

England caps: 21

Ben Chilwell, who made the £50 million move from Leicester City to Chelsea in 2020, is one of the best left-backs in the Premier League – when fully fit, of course. Unfortunately for the Blues’ vice captain, he has suffered numerous bad injuries in recent years – and that trickled into 2023/24, too, with him making just 13 league appearances across the entire campaign.

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Southgate has given him chances to shine occasionally, with Chilwell accruing 21 caps so far. The 27-year-old has had to contend with Luke Shaw when both players have been available, though only the latter, for Euro 2024 at least, was issued a spot on the plane. Availability is the best ability – and that is something that Chilwell, neither Shaw, can really supply.

Right-Midfield: Jadon Sancho

England caps: 23

When talkSPORT made their predictions, Jadon Sancho was just 19 years old and flying in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. He had already made his England debut by that point, and it seemed almost certain that he would play a huge role for the national team going forward.

However, his career had stagnated after a tumultuous stint with parent club Manchester United. After a couple of underwhelming seasons, Sancho then fell out with Erik ten Hag and was loaned back to his former club for the second half of 2023/24, where he certainly impressed. With all the talent in wide areas, including Saka, Phil Foden, and others, Euro 2024 will not be the 24-year-old’s time to his 23 caps after he was excluded from the squad.

Centre-Midfield: Conor Gallagher

England caps: 18

This was one of the boldest calls talkSPORT made, but it doesn’t look like a bad shout at all. In 2019, Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher was still just a teenager and thriving in the Championship with Charlton Athletic. Writing about Gallagher, they said:

Five years later, not only is the Cobham academy product a regular for the Stamford Bridge outfit, but he also captained the Blues on several occasions this season due to injuries to the aforementioned Chilwell and Reece James. The fact that he was named in England’s squad is a testament to his ability.

Centre-Midfield: Phil Foden

England caps: 40

Phil Foden, somehow still just 23 years old, is arguably England’s most talented player from a technical point of view. He has already won everything there is to win with Manchester City at domestic level, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League, and he is making a considerable impact at international level too.

Capped 40 times by his country already and with four goals to his name so far, the Stockport-born ace will have a huge say in the Euro 2024 final.

Left-Midfield: Callum Hudson-Odoi

England caps: 3

Callum Hudson-Odoi has not kicked on as many expected him to. When the article was written, Hudson-Odoi was 18 years old and had already established himself in Chelsea’s first-team as a talented prospect. However, following an ACL injury shortly after his breakthrough, he never managed to recapture his place in the Blues’ squad, and was sold to Nottingham Forest for just £5m in 2023.

Now 23, the winger has made just three appearances for England, with all three coming in 2019. He is still eligible to play for another national side and in 2023, he told the Telegraph that he was still thinking about changing allegiances to Ghana. Despite his upturn in form since joining the Tricky Trees, the chances of an England call-up in the near future look slim, so we might see Hudson-Odoi plying his trade for a different nation in the future.

ST: Raheem Sterling

England caps: 82

Raheem Sterling was a favourite of Gareth Southgate over the years until recently. He was undoubtedly one of the best players at Euro 2020, earning a spot in the UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament after a number of impressive performances. He then played a key role in England’s first two games of the 2022 World Cup campaign, scoring and assisting against Iran.

But, having been a regular in Southgate’s setup for years, Sterling’s odds, over the course of the season, looked increasingly unlikely – and he ended up not making the squad. His performances haven’t been enough to see him return to the England fold and, with several players who were in form and competing for the attacking spots, the former Man City star can have no qualms with watching the tournament from afar.

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ST: Mason Greenwood

England caps: 1

We all know what has happened to Mason Greenwood over the last few years. In 2019, he was still a teenager and had just broken into Manchester United’s first-team. He kept improving in the years after, making his England debut in 2020, but his football career came to a stand-still when he was arrested in January 2022 and charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault.

Greenwood was suspended for a year-and-a-half and, after the charges against him were dropped following the “withdrawal of key witnesses”, United made the decision that he would not play for the club, subsequently loaning him to Getafe. While Greenwood has impressed in Spain, Southgate had previously claimed that he is not considering a potential return to the England squad “pre-Euros”, so the Carrington academy graduate hasn’t added to his solitary England cap this summer.

Notable Omissions

Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham

Incredibly, talkSPORT didn’t think that Kane would be starting for England in Germany. Justifying their decision, they wrote: “Harry Kane would be 31 by the time this tournament comes around and may not be guaranteed a place in the starting XI.” Kane is still playing at an extraordinarily high level, and is England’s top scorer of all time with 66 goals by some way.

Two other players who were omitted by talkSPORT but have been integral to England’s success at Euro 2024 are Bellingham and Saka. We can let talkSPORT off for not including them in their side, though. When the story was written, the duo were just 16 and 17 years old, respectively.

Leaving out Declan Rice, however, is slightly more bewildering. Making his England debut in March 2019, six months before the predictions were made, the former West Ham United captain has continued to make a lasting impression on his teammates and managers, rarely finding himself out of any team. Now with 50 caps to his name, the 25-year-old is a crucial part of England’s spine, and will be for years to come.