EURO 2024
UEFA To Consider Concerns Over Euro 2024 Squad Size –
UEFA will listen to national team managers’ concerns over squad size for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, European football’s governing body said on Thursday.
A return to the pre-Covid-19 23-player limit had been confirmed by UEFA, after it was increased to 26 for Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022, and coaches have voiced their concerns.
“We have taken note of comments expressed by some national team coaches on the squad size for Euro 2024,” a UEFA spokesperson said.
“A workshop with the participating teams will be held on 8 April and on that occasion UEFA will listen to the views of the coaches. Any idea in this respect will then be considered and assessed.”
During the recent international window, England coach Gareth Southgate and Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman spoke about the issue.
“It is very strange not to choose from 26 players. It is absurd to return to 23,” Koeman said after his side’s 2-1 loss to Germany on Tuesday.
“You have to deal more with injuries these days. It is about the load carrying ability of the players.”
Southgate has said that he will name an extended initial squad, and is hopeful of a reversal of UEFA’s decision.
“It’s inevitable we’re going to be naming a longer squad, which is what we did before the Euros here (in 2021) even though we were dealing with 26 then,” Southgate said.
“There is one more UEFA meeting where there’s been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that.”
The deadline for the submission of squad lists to UEFA is June 7. The tournament begins on June 14.
The Asian Football Confederation increased the squad limit from 23 to 26 for the Asian Cup which began in January this year. The African Cup of Nations, which also kicked off in January, had a squad limit of 27.
-Reuters
UEFA have agreed to increase squad sizes from 23 to 26 players for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, European football’s governing body said on Friday.
International managers had voiced concerns when a return to the pre-Covid-19 23-player limit had been confirmed by UEFA, after it was increased to 26 for Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022.
“The UEFA Executive Committee has today decided to increase the maximum squad size of the teams participating in the upcoming UEFA EURO 2024 from the original quota of 23 to 26 players,” a UEFA statement said.
“The increase does not represent an obligation for the participating national associations.”
Participating countries have until June 7 to provide UEFA with a squad list containing a minimum of 23 players and a maximum of 26.
-Reuters
England can win this year’s European Championship and put an end to their series of near misses in major competitions, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said.
Under Gareth Southgate, England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, as well as making it to the Euro 2020 final, where they lost to Italy.
Guardiola said England’s performances mirrored Manchester City’s showings in the Champions League, which they won for the first time last season after years of close misses.
“The national team? Really good. But it’s not just the talent of the strikers, it’s the whole package, the whole group. Gareth knows perfectly what he has to do,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of his side’s Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I have the feeling, everyone has the feeling, that the England national team, in the last events, the World Cup and European Championships, they made steps. They are on the verge, they are really close. They lost a final and got to a semi-final.
“When you arrive at these stages every two years, it’s going to happen. It’s quite similar to us – we were close and, in the end, we lifted it. Just believe it. If they believe it they can do it, believe it and they can do it.”
England are grouped with Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia at Euro 2024 in Germany, which begins on June 14.
The design for the number four on Germany’s national team shirts will be changed over concerns that the number ’44’ resembled the symbol used by Nazi ‘SS’ units, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Monday.
The new kit, launched before Germany host the European Championship in June and July, debuted during their 2-0 friendly win over France last month.
“The DFB checks the numbers 0-9 and then submits the numbers 1-26 to UEFA for review. None of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the creation process of the jersey design,” the DFB said in a statement on X.
“Nevertheless, we take the comments very seriously and do not want to provide a platform for discussions… we will develop an alternative design for the number 4 and coordinate it with UEFA.”
The DFB’s official supplier Adidas had earlier said that they would remove the number 44 from their range of customisation options.
“We will block the number 44 as quickly as possible,” Adidas spokesman Oliver Bruggen told German media. “As a company we actively oppose xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in any form.”
-Reuters
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