Uefa is set to confirm nations will have 26-man squads for this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
A meeting of the European governing body’s national competitions committee voted in favour of the change, which is set to be ratified by the executive committee later this week.
Uefa had planned to revert back to 23-man squads after allowing the three-man expansion for Euro 2020 due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19.
Expanded squads were also permitted at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because it was played in the middle of the domestic season. Several international coaches were critical of 23-man squads and the suggestion to stick with 26 players arose at a recent Euro 2024 coaches meeting, where the idea gained widespread support.
Ronald Koeman, the Netherlands manager, described Uefa's decision to reduce squad sizes for this summer's tournament as “absurd”., external England boss Gareth Southgate had previously been in favour of 23-man squads because of the difficulty in managing an extended group.
However, he has changed his thinking following the amount of injuries being suffered across the Premier League this season. Scotland boss Steve Clarke has also been affected by injuries with Everton's Nathan Patterson, Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson and Southampton's Stuart Armstrong all set to miss the tournament.
In March, Southgate said he would name an initial 26-man Euro 2024 squad while Uefa considered the squad size requests. He will name his squad on 21 May, two days after the end of the Premier League season, with the deadline for squads to be named set for 7 June.
England's Euro 2024 campaign gets under way on 16 June when they face Serbia while Scotland take on hosts Germany in the first game of the tournament on 14 June.
