Serbia legend Nemanja Matic claims Euros opponents England have made two huge errors with final 26-man squad

Nemanja Matic has publicly questioned Gareth Southgate's decision to leave out two players from his final Euro 2024 squad.

Ahead of UEFA's official deadline on Friday, England's preliminary 33-man squad for this summer's tournament was trimmed down 26.

After much deliberation, it was confirmed that Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, James Trafford, Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Jarrad Branthwaite would miss out.

For many, though, the biggest surprise was Gareth Southgate's decision to drop Grealish.

In fact, the Manchester City winger was reportedly 'caught off-guard' by the verdict as he expected to be part of Friday's friendly clash against Iceland.

According to the Telegraph, one player spoke to Southgate in the aftermath – but only to understand his reasoning and to explain the situation to others.

It was ultimately a decision that sparked plenty of debate on social media.

In fact, a player who will supporting England's opponents Serbia on June 16 has raised eyebrows over the decision to drop Grealish.

Nemanja Matic, who called time on his international career in 2020, said it was "good news" for his country ahead of next week's opener.

He also mentioned former Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford as someone who should have been selected.

"I would always like to have players like @MarcusRashford and @JackGrealish in the team - players who can decide the game with one move," he said on X, formerly Twitter. "Not selected/good news for us."

Image credit: Getty

Last month, after he announced his preliminary 33-man squad, Gareth Southgate explained why he decided against including Rashford in his plans for Euro 2024.

Rashford scored just seven Premier League goals for Manchester United last season.

"The determining factor was the injury he picked up in the last camp," the Three Lions manager said. "He's missed five weeks and hasn't been able to get to the intensity required."

England will kick off their Euros group stage campaign on June 16 against Serbia, before facing Denmark (June 20) and Slovenia (June 25).

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