The 2024 UEFA European Championship begins on June 14 with 24 teams competing for the right to be crowned European champions.
Ahead of the month-long tournament, Al Jazeera takes a look at some of the high-profile players missing from the showpiece event in Germany.
Norway’s messy qualification leaves leading duo stranded outside Euro
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard narrowly missed out on winning the 2023-24 Premier League trophy, which was coincidentally lifted on the final day of the season by his good friend Erling Haaland’s Manchester City for a fourth consecutive time, a record.
While Odegaard and Haaland have put in hugely impressive individual performances in the Premier League – and are loved by their clubs and countries – both will be forced to sit out the European summer after their nation Norway did not failed to qualify for Euro 2024.
Norway, who have not participated in a major football tournament since 2000 and who, despite having these two superstar players, finished a disappointing third in their group during the qualifying phase behind Spain and Scotland, failed to secure an automatic place. Later, their playoff hopes also ended.
Even a superb tally of six goals from Haaland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers was not enough to see Norway qualify for the tournament, while Odegaard’s two-goal contribution from midfield n It was obviously not enough to allow his team to overcome the hump.
With a talented squad also including Fredrik Aursnes, Oscar Bobb and Julian Ryerson, it’s fair to say that Norway are the biggest shock omission from the Euro 2024 tournament and a huge disappointment for the millions of fans who follow this talented pair.
Manchester United duo miss England call after poor season
Failed striker Marcus Rashford has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for the Euros, just a year and a half after his dynamic outing at the World Cup in Qatar.
The 26-year-old has suffered a loss of form in 2023-24, scoring a meager eight goals in 43 games in all competitions – a huge drop from the 30 goals he scored the previous season.
Rashford’s omission from the national football team was undoubtedly the biggest shock to England fans, as he had been a familiar presence in Southgate’s squad for years.
Rashford wasn’t the only player from Manchester United’s underperforming 2023-24 squad to fail to make the England squad for the Euros.
Jadon Sancho’s difficult spell at Old Trafford in the first half of the season proved to be a deciding factor as Southgate also left him out.
The star winger returned to form on his return to Borussia Dortmund on loan in January, helping the German club earn a place in the Champions League final, but he arrived too late to bring Sancho back into the team of the Three Lions for Euro 2024.
Pogba leaves a huge hole in the French midfield
With his brilliant and unique performances in midfield, the technically gifted Paul Pogba played a major role in France’s World Cup victory in 2018, but was forced to miss the 2022 edition in Qatar due to injuries .
Despite his return to form this season, Pogba will not play at the next Euros after the Juventus midfielder was handed a four-year doping ban for testing positive for a banned drug.
The ban, which runs until September 2027, also excludes the French superstar from the next World Cup in 2026, effectively excluding Pogba from the national team until he is in the twilight of his career at age 34 .
Pogba’s absence in midfield will be a major blow for France, especially given his proven track record with the national team at major tournaments.
In Pogba’s absence, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouameni will attempt to fill the huge talent void in the French midfield.
Austrian Alaba will be present at the Euro – but not on the pitch
Austrian David Alaba has been left out of coach Ralf Rangnick’s provisional squad due to injury. But there was an unexpected twist in this story.
In an unusual move, the defender will still be on the plane with the rest of the Austrian squad to Germany and will play a role at Euro 2024.
Alaba, who played in two of Austria’s previous Euro matches in 2016 and 2020, was named “non-playing captain” by the national football association after the 31-year-old stressed he wanted be with the team during the tournament.
After a discussion with his club Real Madrid, Rangnick confirmed that Alaba would travel with the Austrian side, despite ongoing rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury.
Alaba, known for being a positive-minded team player, will continue to play the role of captain, team leader and motivator at Euro 2024 – and now predictably, he will also play the key role of chief cheerleader from the sidelines. .
Even without Alaba on the pitch, Austria boasts a star-studded squad including Marcel Sabitzer, Marko Arnautovic and Konrad Laimer as the small Alpine nation attempts to qualify from a tough group of France, Poland and the The Netherlands.
Unlucky Gavi will miss out for Spain
Top-rated central midfielder Gavi, a Barcelona and Spain regular, will not play for La Roja at the Euros as he too continues to recover from an ACL injury.
The 19-year-old suffered a knee injury during Spain’s qualifier against Georgia in November.
Ruling him out until the start of the 2024-25 season, Barcelona are reportedly furious with Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente’s decision to face Gavi in this match, with his side having already sealed their qualification for Euro 2024 during the previous match.
The coach, responding to a plethora of complaints about Gavi’s workload, lamented the unfortunate – some would say unnecessary – injury as “an accident, a misfortune”.
The absence of the young midfielder will be huge for Spain, although the team has a good mix of youth and experience with Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Dani Carvajal and Aymeric Laporte all set to take Gavi’s place .
You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated website Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match preparation and live text commentary, and stay up to date with group ranking and in real time match results and schedules.
