Former Man Utd and Chelsea star aims dig at Southgate's squad: 'Good news for us'

Former Serbian star Nemanja Matic has aimed a dig at England manager Gareth Southgate's selection for the Euros, saying the omission of two players in particular is "good for us".

Although the deadline for naming the 26-player Euros squad is 11pm on June 7, Southgate decided to name it early as some players had already confirmed they had missed out on selection with further news being leaked.

A training squad of 33 had to be trimmed by seven.

James Maddison was the first name confirmed to miss out, with James Trafford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Harry Maguire, Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones all not making the cut.

Another name to be trimmed, and perhaps the most surprising to fans and players alike, was that of Jack Grealish.

Matic, who played for the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Benfica and Roma during his career, has said Grealish along with another player who didn't even make the training squad in Marcus Rashford not going to Germany is "good news for us," in reference to his own nation.

While six of those seven names were dropped, Maguire was not available for selection because of a calf injury.

England's first group game at Euro 2024 is against Serbia; the other are against Denmark and Slovenia.

England's preparations for the tournament continue on June 7 as the Three Lions host Iceland in the final warmup game before the squad flies out to Germany.

The Euros squad deadline is around one hour after the full-time whistle of this friendly but it has already been confirmed.

The 2024 squad is quite different to that of Euro 2020 which took place in 2021 - Maguire, Kalvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Grealish all featured in the final, which was lost on penalties to Italy.

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