Gareth Southgate reveals Euro 2024 coaches are pushing UEFA to let them pick 26-man squads amid player welfare concerns, giving fringe stars a potential lifeline

Gareth Southgate has revealed the sizes of the Euro 2024 squads could increase from 23 to 26 during talks next month in a move that could hand a number of players tournament lifelines.

The head coaches of nations heading to Germany are set for exploratory talks over the possibility of extending the limit on the number of players that can be selected for the tournament amid a global concern about player welfare.

Traditionally, managers have been permitted to select 23 players for major international competitions.

But in the delayed Euro 2020, teams consisted of 26 men as a safety buffer for Covid restrictions.

Teams were also allowed to pick 26 players at World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Southgate was able to pick a 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

However, it has been looking increasingly likely that UEFA would revert to the original 23-man rule for this summer’s European Championships.

But Southgate has disclosed that there is a clamour within the coaching community to stick with the 26-man eligibility for the Euros.

When asked if the chances of picking more than 23 players had disappeared, Southgate, whose plans for the recent games against Brazil and Belgium were decimated by injury related withdrawals, responded: ‘It seems to be.

‘There is one more UEFA meeting (in a fortnight) where there’s been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that. Given where we are now…

‘We’ve got to make the best decisions with what we know and some of those currently are going to be medical decisions. And we’ve been able to get those right in the previous tournaments.

‘We’ve been able to give people time, but with 23 that’s definitely more difficult.’

The news could open the door to number of players on the edges of Southgate’s plans to make the summer squad, with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon among others sweating on their places in the final party.

There is a loose plan for Southgate to name an extended squad – of around 30 players – towards the end of May ahead of the tournament training camp at St George’s Park.

Ollie Watkins could benefit from an increase if Southgate took three strikers instead of two

Less experienced players such as Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon would also welcome an increase

When asked about the dynamics of his extended part, Southgate added: ‘It depends on where some of the injuries are at and also how many players are in the European finals but my preference is always that players have some clarity on exactly what the role is when they come in.

‘I’ll probably try to at least manage expectations in that period. But it’s going to be really hard to be really definitive on a 23.’