The famous F365 Euro 2024 England ladder: Trent is catapulted up 15 rungs

England have now won their first four Euro 2024 qualifying matches – scoring 15 goals and conceding one – so we think it’s safe to say that they will be in Germany next year.

But which England players will be there?

As always, these rankings represent our best guess of Gareth Southgate’s thinking, so if you don’t like any of them then blame him not us. Please. March’s positions in brackets, and you can read our reasoning for all of those embarrassing errors here.

1 (1) Harry Kane
None of his England goals count. Zero. Zilch. And yet we still have a creeping suspicion that he will be in the Euro 2024 squad. When will Gareth Southgate ever learn that he needs a proper goalscorer who won’t do all that dropping deep and sh*t?

2 (2) Jude Bellingham
Missing from this brace of games through injury while completing a big-money move to Real Madrid, but let’s not forget his performance against Italy in Naples in March, when he took the game by the scruff at the neck at just 19. If Real had not made their minds up before, that performance would have sealed the deal. Could literally be at the heart of the England midfield for the next six or seven tournament cycles.

3 (3) Bukayo Saka
One of five England players to start all four European Championship qualifying games, Saka has absolutely made that right side his own. As we wrote in the ratings for the North Macedonia win that saw a Saka treble: ‘A first career hat-trick and you’ll do well to see a better one. The first touch for his opener was absurd, the finish was smashed, but not as smashed as his second, which was in the opposite top corner to his first, and the timing of the runs for all three were perfect.’ We bloody love him.

4 (4) Declan Rice
Started the last 11 England games so absolutely definitely here to stay. Now just needs Champions League football to take him to the next level, with Arsenal poised to provide that. So far, so bloody optimistic for England. We remember a time when we got depressed by 4).

5 (5) Jordan Pickford
Another couple of bystanders’ clean sheets and that takes him past Chris Woods and level with Ray Clemence on that metric. And that is absolutely fine. Bore off with your ‘TiME tO drOP thAT CLown’ talk.

6 (6) John Stones
Just an exceptional footballer. We are lucky to have him.

7 (7) Kyle Walker
We’re so bored of all the partisan attempts to weaponise the England right-back debate so it ends here: Kyle Walker is England’s first-choice right-back. What a signing he was by Manchester City, by the way.

8 (9) Luke Shaw
A mature, complete full-back under Erik ten Hag, with the added bonus that he has already formed a brilliant left-side partnership with…

9 (16) Marcus Rashford
‘Rashford, Kane, Saka would certainly appear to represent England’s current optimum front three,’ we wrote in March before that trio had ever played together. After the 7-0 v North Macedonia, we are locking it in, Jeremy.

10 (10) Harry Maguire
The fifth of the England players who have started all four Euro 2024 qualifiers. He patently needs a move but don’t you be thinking for a second that any lack of movement will threaten his England place. ‘Stones, Maguire’ will take us through to next summer at least. Just accept it. Embrace it.

11 (10) Reece James
As we said in March: ‘Injury problems and Kyle Walker’s point-blank stubborn refusal to lose his pace have slightly stymied James’ seemingly inevitable ascent to become England’s starting right-back but while the path may have become slightly circuitous, the destination remains the same.’ Eventually.

12 (13) Jordan Henderson
Will he go to Euro 2024 as a starter? Possibly not. Will he eventually end up in the team because you can trust him and he never lets anybody down and he does run around rather a lot and do the simple things well? Probably yes.

13 (28) Trent Alexander-Arnold
Woah, that’s a big climber. But that’s what two eye-catching displays in central midfield can do. What Southgate and England need now is for Jurgen Klopp to actually play him in midfield (and not as a right-back with no right-back responsibilities) so he is tested in that role against somebody other than Malta and North Macedonia, neither of whom will be facing England in Germany.

14 (12) Phil Foden
Hmmm. Important to remember that he started the two World Cup knock-out games but also then important to remember that he has started none of the Euro 2024 qualifiers since. He was the first off the bench against Malta, at least. A squad member though not now a first-choice starter.

15 (14) Mason Mount
A Southgate favourite to such an extent that when he’s not there – and he has missed the entirety of this qualifying campaign so far – Conor Gallagher is dragged off the bench to do a passable impression.

16 (11) Jack Grealish
As we said in March: ‘Hard to see how he will ever be an automatic starter for England, but also hard to see how or why you or more importantly Southgate would ever not want such a scampish free-kick-collecting mischief-making option on hand.’ And no, he wasn’t dropped.

17 (15) Ben Chilwell
In the absence of any other other options, we presume he is England’s second-choice left-back. Also likely to get absolutely brilliant under Mauricio Pochettino.

18 (18) Aaron Ramsdale
England’s second-choice or third-choice goalkeeper. And that’s fine.

19 (19) Nick Pope
England’s second-choice or third-choice goalkeeper. And that’s fine.

20 (23) Marc Guehi
Now England’s third-choice centre-half and only likely to cement that place if/when he moves to a Big Seven club this summer. Initially nervy but eventually fine v ‘only Malta’.

21 (26) James Maddison
His skill-set still does not quite fit an England team in which Kane tries to operate in many of the same positions but two starts in four qualifying games is more than those other suspiciously inventive types Grealish and Foden.

22 (31) Callum Wilson
Twice off the bench to cement his place as ‘not Harry Kane’. He’s okay but he’s not Harry Kane.

23 (22) Kieran Trippier
Versatility, reliability and better-than-ever club form means one of Southgate’s favourites is still firmly inside the squad. As we used to say of James Milner: He’s useful. Like a slotted spoon.

24 (48) Tyrone Mings
Unai Emery, that.

25 (20) Kalvin Phillips
A real dearth of England midfield options keeps him in and amongst. But does not have as much credit in the bank as somebody like Maguire if he continues to just kick his heels winning all of the trophies at club level.

26 (RE) Eberechi Eze
When the last iteration of this ladder was published, Eze was not even in a frankly shit Palace starting XI. Since then he has scored six goals in nine starts under Roy Hodgson. What a man. And Eze isn’t half-bad either.

27 (24) Conor Gallagher
Offers a Mount-lite option that clearly appeals to Southgate, if not to anybody else.

28 (RE) Sam Johnstone
A revival at Crystal Palace has led to a revival for England.

29 (17) Raheem Sterling
Not fit for March’s qualifiers and very much dropped for June’s, Sterling now has to win back his England place. The good news for him is that Southgate is a massive fan and any ‘rest’ was gifted with real reluctance.

30 (NE) Levi Colwill
Trained with the England squad and specifically namechecked by Southgate as he talked about centre-back options. Chelsea are desperate to hang on to him amid bids from Brighton so we can only assume that Pochettino sees him as rather better than some of the frankly ropey options he will inherit.

31 (25) Ivan Toney
“He knows that we picked him because we felt until there was a charge he should be allowed to play. When he comes back, if he plays well, then we’ll pick him,” said Southgate. Could not be clearer.

32 (RE) Lewis Dunk
Got the call ahead of Eric Dier and Fikayo Tomori, but it feels like a holding position for Colwill. Shame injury denied him a second cap as nobody wants to be in the David Nugent gang.

33 (RE) Morgan Gibbs-White
Excellent at the end of the season as Nottingham Forest survived. Hard not to think he would have been in Southgate’s plans (ahead of Gallagher?) if the Under-21 Euros had not been looming this summer.

34 (21) Eric Dier
‘We still need to see some concrete evidence that disproves the World Cup-cultivated theory that Eric Dier is England’s first-reserve centre-back. Please. Any evidence at all. Anything. Anything,’ we wrote in March. Halle-f***ing-lujah.

35 (32) Harvey Elliott
A peripheral figure at Liverpool in the closing weeks of the season but now has the stage of the Under-21 Euros. And we know Southgate loves a pathway player.

36 (NE) Taylor Harwood-Bellis
We have to listen when Southgate speaks and he said of THB: “Interested to see Harwood-Bellis in the Under 21s to see what might happen with him next year.”

37 (30) James Ward-Prowse
Is somehow still only 28. Needs a decent transfer now.

38 (27) Conor Coady
We suspect he has been retired from England duty without actually being told.

39 (40) Ollie Watkins
Delivered a 15-goal Premier League season to keep his name in the mix, but being overlooked even with Toney sidelined is not encouraging. There’s only room for one ‘not Harry Kane’.

40 (34) Ben White
In all honesty, might need a new England manager and/or a change in position at Arsenal.

41 (29) Fikayo Tomori
42 (42) Dean Henderson 
43 (41) Jadon Sancho
44 (NE) Curtis Jones
45 (45) Jacob Ramsey 
46 (35) Tammy Abraham
47 (36) Jarrod Bowen
48 (47) Ezri Konsa
49 (39) Oliver Skipp
50 (50) Phil Neville