Gareth Southgate says he’s torn on whether England should elect to try and qualify for Euro 2028 despite them co-hosting the tournament.
UEFA will award only two automatic qualification spots for the 2028 competition which is taking place in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Two automatic spots will be held as “backstops” for any host nation which fails to quality.
England want to take part in qualification but Southgate, who played in a succession of friendlies in the build-up to Euro 96 which England hosted, said: “I don’t know what would be better.
“The qualification, it’s a mixed bag, you get a mixed range of fixtures, but ahead of Euro 96 we had a season of friendlies and they were varying levels, Germany are experiencing that’s not straightforward at the moment.
“It’s brilliant for all of the countries who are hosting, great for local business, great for the teams because there is home advantage, there’s no question about that, and great for the fans to see their teams playing at home in a major tournament. That’s a fabulous thing for everybody.”
With the tournament only being five years away, Southgate believes the bulk of the current squad could still be involved in Euro 2028.
Southgate added: “The great thing for England is the squad we’ve got now, pretty much everybody can still go again. We’ve got so many good, young players that by that point will have more caps, more experiences. If you look at the squad now, there’s the strong framework of a whole squad, then players in the Under-21s and below who can come up and compete.
“England are going to be in a very strong position in four years’ time as well.”
GO DEEPER
Everything you need to know about Euro 2028
When is Euro 2028 and how does qualification work?
Exact dates have not been confirmed but the Euros typically runs from the middle of June to the middle of July in the year concerned.
How teams will qualify for the competition has not yet been confirmed, although we know 24 countries will contest the finals.
The Athletic reported on Monday that England want to take part in qualification for Euro 2028 even though they are set to be announced as the main host nation by UEFA.
The host nations of major international tournaments such as the UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup are traditionally handed automatic qualifying spots by the governing bodies.
But UEFA will award only two automatic qualification spots for the 2028 tournament, which will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
UEFA therefore wants all five hosts to play in the qualifying groups with the two automatic spots held as “backstops” for any host nation that fails to make it.
If more than two of the five hosts do not qualify for the tournament, only the two with the best record will secure host places. So there are no guarantees all five will be involved in the finals.
(Photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA via Getty Images)
