England boss Gareth Southgate has reportedly made a bold selection call ahead of the Euro 2024 final after deciding to leave out three stars from his starting XI to face Spain. The Three Lions manager is poised to name an unchanged lineup for their European Championship showdown at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, leaving Ollie Watkins, Cole Palmer and Luke Shaw out of the side.
Watkins stole the headlines with a heroic cameo from the bench during the semi-final, coming onto the pitch in the 81st minute after Southgate gambled in bringing off his captain Harry Kane.
It paid off just nine minutes later when Watkins fired a stunning low drive past Bart Verbruggen into the bottom corner to send England into the final.
But according to widespread media reports including The Telegraph, the Aston Villa striker is set to be left on the bench again along with Chelsea star Palmer, who also came on and set up the goal with a neat through ball. Shaw is also set to miss out on a starting spot despite proving his fitness.
Southgate has been urged to drop Kane, who is in contention for the Euro 2024 golden boot with three goals in six games, following a string of lacklustre displays at the front of the England attack.
However, the 53-year-old has been reluctant to make drastic changes to his starting team throughout the tournament and is not likely to start now before the biggest match of his eight-year reign.
Watkins has already addressed his frustration in being limited to just two substitute appearances during the tournament, despite scoring 19 goals and assisting 13 in the Premier League.
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