Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison has been controversially cut from England’s squad for Euro 2024.
The Spurs playmaker was called up to the provisional 33-man selection, but will not be part of the final squad for the tournament in Germany.
The FA said Maddison and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones had left the England camp prior to the team’s Wembley friendly against Iceland on Friday.
“We thank them for being an important part of our pre-tournament preparation,” the FA said on X.
The news is a major blow for Maddison, who was one of Tottenham’s standout players for large parts of last season.
Maddison hit the ground running following his move to Spurs from Leicester City and quickly staked an early claim for a spot at Euro 2024.
However, injuries disrupted his season later on, and he suffered from inconsistent form towards the latter stages of the campaign.
Maddison has now taken to Instagram with a heartfelt message for his fans and peers, which saw the likes of Jude Bellingham, Pedro Porro, Harry Maguire and Danny Drinkwater respond.
How did James Maddison react to England Euro 2024 snub?
“Devastated doesn’t quite cut it,” he wrote. “Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.
“I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26 man squad as I feel I bring something different & had been a mainstay in this whole qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany but the manager has made the decision and I have to respect that.
“I’ll be back, I have no doubt. Wishing the boys all the luck in the world out in Germany, unbelievable group and lads that I literally call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.”
Bellingham responded with a wincing emoji, Porro wrote ‘head up’, Maguire replied with a heart emoji and Drinkwater urged him to keep his head up and ‘smash it next season’.
England start their Euro 2024 campaign with a Group C game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on 16 June,
The Three Lions then take on Denmark on 20 June before wrapping up the group against Slovenia on 25 June.