Some of England’s U21 champions have already earned caps under Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate names his provisional Euro 2024 England squad on 21 May and the latest odds suggest a few U21 stars will make the cut.

The Young Lions won the 2023 European Championships in Romania and Georgia last summer. They beat Spain 1-0 in the final thanks to a Curtis Jones strike.

Fast-forward a year and some of those heroes are now eyeing a role in Southgate’s England Euro squad. This could be the last Gareth Southgate England squad before he steps down as manager.

Who will do enough to catch Southgate’s eye? We assess the odds of six U21 heroes who might grab a seat on the plane to Germany.

England Football Squad: Possible U21 Picks

England were sublime at the U21 Euros last summer. They went through the entire tournament without conceding, overcame the likes of Germany and Portugal, and deservedly beat Spain in the final.

That England U21 squad will go down in history but most have already moved on. Some have earned England call-ups, while others are now too old for the youth set-up.

Southgate will pick a 26-man preliminary squad in May and will need to boil that down to 23 come June. Here are six picks who could make the manager’s squad this summer…

Cole Palmer

Let’s start with an obvious one. Cole Palmer is so sure to get a place in Southgate’s squad that we’re not even offering odds on it. The Chelsea forward has two full caps already and is scoring for fun at Chelsea right now.

Palmer was an unused sub in the March friendly against Belgium and has a lot of competition for places here. However, he remains a solid choice for a peripheral place among Southgate’s forward arsenal.

Jarrad Branthwaite

A regular in the Everton XI, Jarrad Branthwaite is yet to make his England debut despite a recent call-up to the squad. He didn’t feature in the U21 final last summer, as Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Levi Colwill anchored the defence.

Branthwaite has had a breakout season on Merseyside, though, and is priced at 1.67 in the BetUK sportsbook to catch Southgate’s eye. He'll need to beat the likes of Lewis Dunk and Ezri Konsa to one of the few back-up positions in the heart of defence.

Levi Colwill

Colwill, like Branthwaite, is eyeing a squad place at the Euros this summer and made his debut in a friendly against Australia last October. He’s a regular in the Chelsea XI and looks comfortable in a three-man defence.

Colwill was integral to the U21s winning the Euros last summer but has fallen behind Branthwaite in the betting. That’s partially because Branthwaite has had more playing time at club level this season.

It’s unlikely both Branthwaite and Colwill will earn nods this summer, but one of them should. Colwill is the outsider at 2.25.

Anthony Gordon

Anthony Gordon cost Newcastle £40 million when joining from Everton last summer and is yet to fully justify the price tag. However, he has emerged as a viable super sub option for Southgate’s England team after impressing off the bench against Belgium in March.

Gordon has two caps to his name and will need to shine in a Magpies shirt for the remainder of the Premier League season to dislodge more seasoned England names in his position. The likes of Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are already guaranteed a ticket to Germany.

Gordon needs to beat fellow playmakers such as Jarrod Bowen, Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer to earn a spot here. We've priced him at 2.75 for now but those betting odds could change if the 23-year-old has a dazzling spring.

Curtis Jones

Curtis Jones scored the winning goal in the U21 Euro final and earned a place in the Team of the Tournament. He was a regular for Liverpool this season up until an ankle injury suffered in February ruled him out for a crunch point in the season.

Jones should be fully fit by the time Southgate names his squad. However, he may have some catching up to do if he is to beat the likes of Gallagher, James Maddison and perhaps even Jordan Henderson in the midfield. He could be Southgate's back-up option to Declan Rice and earn a nod over Kalvin Phillips.

At 5.00 he’s an outside shout to make the squad.

Harvey Elliott

Harvey Elliott earned 20 caps for England U21 and played his part in the European Championship success last summer. However, we're not sure he has the form required to push into this England squad.

Elliott is behind the likes of Palmer and Gordon when it comes to the Southgate pecking order. He's yet to get a call-up to the first team and was overlooked as recently as March.

There doesn't seem enough room for Elliott here and time is running out. Despite his form at Anfield, it looks as though Southgate will pick already-tested youth players rather than a totally fresh face. Don't be surprised, though, if Elliott makes the first England squad for September's Nations League matches against Republic of Ireland and Slovenia.

Who Is In The England Squad?

Southgate will name his 26-man initial England squad on 21 May. He will then oversee England’s training camp, with the plan to reduce the squad to 23 players come 7 June.

There is a possibility that UEFA will permit 26-man squad sizes this summer but it’s unlikely, as the extra places were only made available during tournaments affected by Covid-19.

There are some guarantees, though, on who will be in the squad. As we see it, the following 16 players will definitely be heading to Germany:

• Jordan Pickford
• Kyle Walker
• Aaron Ramsdale
• Ben Chilwell
• Kieran Trippier
• Luke Shaw
• John Stones
• Harry Maguire
• Declan Rice
• Jude Bellingham
• Phil Foden
• Marcus Rashford
• Harry Kane
• Bukayo Saka
• Jack Grealish
• Ollie Watkins

That leaves 10 spots available for the wider squad announced in May. The likes of Henderson, Joe Gomez, Marc Guéhi, Tyrone Mings, Kalvin Phillips and Callum Wilson are not guaranteed a spot.

It’s likely that at least one or two U21 heroes from last summer will make the cut. Be sure to check back at the latest BetUK odds to see who are the current frontrunners.

After 22 years of hurt ended for Scotland when they qualified for a first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup at Euro 2020, a wonderful qualification campaign has seen the Scots make it back-to-back European Championships.

Five wins from their eight qualifying matches saw the Scots finish second in Group A, four points off of table-toppers Spain and six points clear of third-placed Norway.

Steve Clarke’s side are still rank outsiders to lift a first major piece of silverware at 80/1, however their promising performances in qualifying - including a stunning 2-0 victory over Spain at Hampden Park - could point to Scotland making out of the group stages for the first time.

Scotland 2024 Predictions

Tip 1: Scotland to qualify from group stage @ 7/10

Scotland have been drawn into a difficult group in the summer, facing Hungary, Switzerland and hosts Germany - who they will face on the opening day of the tournament.

However, despite the calibre of opponent, Scotland should be full of confidence that they can cause one of the shocks of the tournament in qualifying for their first ever major tournament knockout round.

Each of their Group A opponents have exploitable weaknesses and, under Steve Clarke, the Scots have already shown what they are capable of when they are at their best.

A home victory against Spain, four points taken from a Norway side with the likes of Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland among their ranks and netting against both England and France in friendlies show that they can hold their own going forward.

However, defeats against the Netherlands (4-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0) over their last two matches shows that improvement is still required in their backline.

Germany may have beaten France and the Netherlands in recent friendlies, but they have kept just one clean sheet across their last 12.

Hungary finished bottom of their group in Euro 2020, while Switzerland failed to top what was a favourable qualification group as they finished behind table-toppers Romania.

Each of Scotland’s three group fixtures are likely to be tight encounters and the result could go either way.

However, four of the six third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 16 and so Steve Clarke’s men have an extra chance of making history in Germany.

Tip 2: Group stage points - 3 @ 11/4

With this tight group looking difficult to call, Scotland may have to settle for the lottery of a best third-placed finish to qualify for the knockouts, but they could still better their Euro 2020 to give their fans something to cheer about.

Given that they face hosts and group favourites Germany in the tournament opener, a win or draw may be too tall an order for Steve Clarke’s side and so the focus will likely be on getting something from their meetings with Hungary and Switzerland.

As mentioned earlier, both sides have shown their fragilities and could be caught out by a strong Scotland performance and, while gaining points in each may be unlikely, a first tournament victory since 1996 could be in store.

It’s now 58 years and counting since England won their one and only major international trophy, but there is a growing sense of belief that the drought could end this year.

Gareth Southgate has presided over three near-misses during his time as England head coach and he can make it fourth time lucky at Euro 2024.

England are rated 13/4 to be crowned European champions for the first time ahead of Kylian Mbappe’s France (7/2) and hosts Germany (6/1).

England Euro 2024 Predictions

Tip 1 - England to win the Euros @ 3/1

England head for Germany this summer with one of the best squads of players to pull on the shirt and they have to believe that this is their time.

Southgate, the man who has reintroduced a pride in playing for the Three Lions, has had three tilts at ending a barren run that dates back to 1966.

At the World Cup in Russia in 2018 they blew it against Croatia in a semi-final that was there for the taking. Three years later at the last Euros they went closer still, pipped by Italy on penalties in the final at Wembley.

And then in Qatar they reached the World Cup quarter-finals where they more than matched France but again luck was not on their side.

Critics will say a losing habit is hard to break and Southgate hasn’t earned the right for a fourth attempt at international glory. On the flip side, this is a group that appears to be getting better and stronger and if they perform properly could well be unstoppable.

What England have lacked come crunch time is that wiliness, that international nous required to come successfully through clutch moments.

If the assumption is that they have learned from past mistakes, then there isn’t a better equipped squad in Germany.

It’s the emergence of the likes of Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham behind irrepressible skipper Harry Kane that should fill England backers with hope.

Just as important has been the form of Declan Rice, running the show for Arsenal and on a different level mentally to where he was 18 months ago.

England’s defence gets its share of criticism, but some of it is unjust and Southgate has no problem fielding a world-class back four or five.

Tip 2 - England/Serbia Group C forecast

Southgate can have no complaints about the draw which should ensure his side can build up a head of steam.

Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia are their three opponents, all capable of making life tricky for any country, but all inferior to England.

The Danes and Slovenia qualified from the same section and finished on an identical 22 points while Serbia got through as runners-up behind Hungary in a soft group.

The Serb squad looks packed with quality and there were flashes at the last World Cup of potential. They asked plenty of questions against Brazil and led Cameroon and Switzerland without winning either.

They look progressive enough to be able to escort England into the last 16.