England and Scotland look set to be given the chance to select 26 players for this summer’s European Championships after a UEFA vote on Monday gave the green light for expanded squads.
The suggestion was first made during a meeting of all the nations’ coaches in Dusseldorf a fortnight ago, but at a meeting of the UEFA national competitions committee on Monday, Sky Sports News has learned that delegates voted in favour of changing the rules for Euro 2024 from a 23-player limit to 26.
Enlarged squads were used in the last Euros in 2021 as a measure to help nations cope with the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.
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This latest decision looks set to mean that 26-player squads will become the norm for all UEFA national competitions going forward.
The decision is not yet set in stone – the UEFA executive committee (EXCO) needs to sanction the rule change – but it is expected that will simply be a rubber-stamping exercise.
The EXCO will not meet in person until May 22, but it is usual practice for a decision like this to be ratified remotely. That could happen later this week.
The news will be a welcome boost for Gareth Southgate and Steve Clarke, with both England and Scotland badly affected by injuries, with the start of the Euros now less than eight weeks away.
Could injuries impact Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad?
With the countdown to Euro 2024 well and truly on, could injuries impact who makes Clarke’s final Scotland squad?
In recent weeks midfielder Lewis Ferguson underwent surgery, Stuart Armstrong had his season ended by injury, plus right-backs Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey remain big doubts.
The injuries are a big blow for Clarke who is perhaps left with more decisions to make than he would have wanted at this stage of the season.
Following their friendly defeats in March, Scotland have just two more warm-up games – in June against Finland and Gibraltar – before their tournament opener against Germany.
Clarke has said the “core squad” from Scotland’s successful qualification campaign “deserve the chance to go to the Euros” – meaning he will have some very tough decisions to make over the coming weeks.
A total of 29 players featured across the eight Euro qualifiers and here is a look at who is in the mix…
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