The 2024 UEFA European Championships are well underway now, and we’ve seen a batch of goal-filled, exciting games. England’s first match against Serbia did not match that description, but Gareth Southgate’s men got the job done regardless, coming away with a 1-0 victory thanks to an early goal from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. England fans were encouraged and positive at the sight of the starting 11 for that game, with several key names involved, but there has been a lot of debate in recent weeks about some of the players Southgate decided to cut from his provisional 33-man squad.
This scout report provides a tactical analysis of the seven players who did not make the final squad, with the analysis comparing their 2023/24 performances against those who did make Southgate’s 26-man squad. As you may know already, those seven players were Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, James Trafford, and Jarrad Branthwaite.
James Trafford
21-year-old goalkeeper James Trafford missed out on a place in Southgate’s 26-man squad, with number one keeper Jordan Pickford being backed up by Dean Henderson and Aaron Ramsdale this summer. Trafford was part of the Burnley squad that were relegated back to the Championship this season, but there is no doubt that he has a bright future ahead of him.
Becoming England’s number 1 choice between the sticks in the future is a real possibility for Trafford – the experience of Henderson and Ramsdale as Pickford’s understudies most likely played a part in Trafford’s exclusion from the squad.
Pickford boats strong percentiles for key GK metrics such as save rate % and clean sheets and trumps Trafford in many other metrics in the same area. Of course, being part of a relegated team plays a part in Trafford’s data output, as Burnley faced a lot of attacking pressure week-to-week.
