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Southgate Says He Hasn’t Made Decision on Grealish for Euros Squad 

Football - International Friendly - England Training - Rockliffe Park, Middlesbrough, Britain - June 2, 2024 England manager Gareth Southgate during training. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - International Friendly - England Training - Rockliffe Park, Middlesbrough, Britain - June 2, 2024 England manager Gareth Southgate during training. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Southgate Says He Hasn’t Made Decision on Grealish for Euros Squad 

Football - International Friendly - England Training - Rockliffe Park, Middlesbrough, Britain - June 2, 2024 England manager Gareth Southgate during training. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - International Friendly - England Training - Rockliffe Park, Middlesbrough, Britain - June 2, 2024 England manager Gareth Southgate during training. (Action Images via Reuters)

England manager Gareth Southgate is still weighing up the attacking options for his Euro 2024 squad and said that while Jack Grealish has not played as much as he would have liked this season, he is still in the running to make the cut.

Marcus Rashford was left out of the provisional 33-man squad for Germany and there has been talk that Grealish could be the next big name axed with Southgate set to cut the squad to 26 players by June 7.

Grealish made just 20 Premier League appearances for Manchester City this season, scoring three goals, and was an unused substitute in their FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United last month.

Asked if Grealish was in danger of missing out, Southgate said: "I don't think we're defining that just yet. I think we know where we're likely to be.

"I haven't talked to him specifically about the Cup final. But he has been really bright and he loves being here.

"This season he has not played as much. I'm sure he would have liked that to be different but we know the qualities he can bring. He is a player we enjoy working with."

Southgate added there was time for people to impress in friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland this week.

The likes of James Maddison, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen are all pushing for berths in the squad and Southgate said he had not settled on how many attacking players he would need.

"What we don't totally know is how many we need to take or how many we can allow ourselves to take because of the cover we might need in other positions as well," he added.

England host Bosnia at St. James' Park later on Monday and Iceland at Wembley on Friday before opening their Euro 2024 campaign on June 16 against Serbia in Group C.

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Novak Djokovic Beats Carlos Alcaraz and Gets Closer to 25th Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
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Novak Djokovic Beats Carlos Alcaraz and Gets Closer to 25th Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess

Novak Djokovic refused to let anything stop his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam trophy in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Not a problem with his left leg. Not an early deficit. And not the kid across the net, Carlos Alcaraz, who was making things difficult and eyeing his own bit of history.

Djokovic overcame it all, just as he has so often along the way to so many triumphs, moving into the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the 12th time with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in a scintillating showdown Tuesday night between a pair of stars born 16 years apart and at opposite ends of their careers, The AP reported.

The action was non-stop, the shot-making brilliant, even as the match stretched on for more than 3 1/2 hours and nearly to 1 a.m. — never more so, perhaps, than when Alcaraz saved a break point that would have put Djokovic ahead 5-2 in the fourth set, allowing him to serve for the win. The 33-stroke exchange was the longest of the evening, and when it ended with Djokovic sailing a forehand long, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena went wild. Djokovic reached for his bothersome leg and yelled toward his entourage; Alcaraz, his chest heaving, leaned on a towel box and grinned.

Turned out that only delayed the final result.

With his wife, son and daughter cheering in the stands, the No. 7-seeded Djokovic prevailed thanks to the sort of remarkable returning and no-mistakes-made groundstrokes against Alcaraz that now-retired rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dealt with for years.

Djokovic enjoyed some of his own best efforts in the latter stages, pointing to his ear or blowing kisses or spreading his arms while puffing out his chest. There was the forehand winner on a 22-stroke point that earned the break for a 5-3 lead in the third set. There was that set’s last point, which included a back-to-the-net sprint to chase down a lob. Alcaraz wasn’t shy, either, shouting “Vamos!” and pumping his fists after one particularly booming forehand in the fourth set.

On Friday, Djokovic’s 50th major semifinal will come against No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, a two-time runner-up at majors who beat No. 12 Tommy Paul 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1. The other men’s quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 8 Alex de Minaur, and No. 21 Ben Shelton against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.