Jack Grealish insists he should've been picked in .
The star missed out on going to Germany as the Three Lions made it all the way to the final in Berlin, . Grealish was among the headline omissions having been a regular in the squad previously.
Southgate had named the City playmaker in his squads for Euro 2020 and the World Cup in 2022, but opted against doing so for a third major tournament. Instead he picked the likes of Anthony Gordon and . Grealish though is adamant he could've offered something different.
He said: "I think everyone can imagine I was absolutely devastated. It was probably one of the most difficult periods of my life. I think my whole career has been a lot of ups and downs, but, yeah, that was definitely right up there in terms of the downs. I'll be honest with you, I didn't really agree with it because it's just me, you know...
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"I felt like I didn't have the best season. You look at some players, for example, in my position, even the likes of , Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, people like this, they scored a lot of goals, which 100 per cent I agree with. But I just know that my game is not just about goals. I think I give so much more to the team than just goals
He concluded: "So, yeah, you know, you asked me do I think I should have gone? And I still think that, yeah, I should have, but obviously it wasn't meant to be.”
England's attack struggled to fire throughout the tournament. They only scored twice in their three group games, being kept goalless by Slovenia. Even in the knockouts Southgate's side were largely uninspiring in attack with the former manager doing little to change his line-up despite calls to do so.
Southgate, who left his role after losing the final to Spain, admitted that leaving out the City man was a tough call but stood by his decision.
The former England boss said: "[ ] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they've been tough calls. They're calls we've gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
"We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with. It's sad to have to deliver that news to them."
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