UEFA has confirmed nations will have 26-man squads for this summer’s European Championships in Germany.
The suggestion was first made during a meeting of all the nations’ coaches in Dusseldorf last month, but at a meeting of the UEFA national competitions committee on April 22, Sky Sports News learned that delegates voted in favour of changing the rules for Euro 2024 from a 23-player limit to 26 with the change rubber-stamped on Friday.
UEFA also confirmed squads must be named by 11pm (UK time) on June 7, with England and Scotland both in friendly action that evening as the Three Lions face Iceland at Wembley while Steve Clarke’s side host Finland at Hampden Park.
Enlarged squads were used in the last Euros in 2021 as a measure to help nations cope with the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.
This latest decision looks set to mean that 26-player squads will become the norm for all UEFA national competitions going forward.
The news will be a welcome boost for Gareth Southgate and Clarke, with both England and Scotland badly affected by injuries, with the start of the Euros now just six weeks away.
England’s Euro 2024 campaign gets under way on June 16 when they face Serbia while Scotland take on hosts Germany in the opening game of the tournament on June 14.
With the countdown to Euro 2024 well and truly on, could injuries impact who makes Clarke’s final Scotland squad?
Recently midfielder Lewis Ferguson underwent surgery, Stuart Armstrong had his season ended by injury, plus right-backs Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey remain big doubts.
The injuries are a big blow for Clarke who is perhaps left with more decisions to make than he would have wanted at this stage of the season.
Following their friendly defeats in March, Scotland have just two more warm-up games – in June against Finland and Gibraltar – before their tournament opener against Germany.
Clarke has said the “core squad” from Scotland’s successful qualification campaign “deserve the chance to go to the Euros” – meaning he will have some very tough decisions to make over the coming weeks.
A total of 29 players featured across the eight Euro qualifiers and here is a look at who is in the mix…
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