Selecting a squad to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Olympics | OneFootball

The 2024 Olympic football tournament kicked off this week with no shortage of controversy and drama in the opening fixtures.

There is no football representation from the Home Nations with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland athletes competing under Great Britain at the Olympics.

That has blocked entry due to fears from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that playing as a single entity could risk their future ability to compete independently at other international football tournaments.

Great Britain did enter a team as a one-off when London hosted the Olympics in 2012 but has not participated, aside from that edition, since 1960.

We decided to hypothetically select a possible team that could have competed at this summer’s tournament. All players in the 18-player squad must be aged under 23 as per Olympic rules (born on or after 1 January 2001), though three overage selections are permitted.

We’ve opted for at least one player from each Home Nation to ensure fairness, while we’ve also excluded players who competed at this summer’s European Championship due to the unlikely workload of both tournaments.

Goalkeepers: James Trafford (England), Sam Tickle (England).

James Trafford claims the number one shirt in our Great Britain side for the 2024 Olympics, having earned a first senior call-up for England ahead of Euro 2024.

A regular with the u-21 side, he has won 17 caps for the Young Lions and was the hero of their u-21 European Championship success in 2023. A stoppage-time penalty save preserved England’s 1-0 lead against Spain in the final as Lee Carsley’s side won the tournament for the first time since 1984.

Wigan’s Sam Tickle serves as deputy.

Defenders: Neco Williams (Wales), Conor Bradley (Northern Ireland), Jarrad Branthwaite (England), Jarrell Quansah (England), Levi Colwill (England), Rico Lewis (England).

In defence, there’s a battle between Liverpool academy alumni Neco Williams and Conor Bradley for the right-back role, with the former having had a fantastic season at Nottingham Forest.

Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah and Levi Colwill are all viewed as future fixtures in the senior England set-up, while the latter can also cover left-back in this squad. Branthwaite has attracted interest from Manchester United this summer after leading all u-23 players across Europe’s top five leagues for duel success rate (68%) in 2023-24.

The lack of an out-and-out left-back leaves us with Manchester City’s multi-functional Rico Lewis to fill that role.

Midfield: Archie Gray (England) Curtis Jones (England), Harvey Elliott (England), Elliott Andersen (Scotland), James Maddison (England).

James Maddison is selected as the first overage player in our GB squad. The midfielder was an unfortunate omission from Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, after a largely productive first season at Spurs.

Maddison starred during the opening weeks of the 2023-24 campaign but an ankle injury halted his progress and he failed to recover his spark. The 27-year-old would be the leading candidate for the captaincy in this squad.

Newly-signed Spurs teammate Archie Gray offers a more defensive presence in an attack-minded midfield group, where Liverpool pair Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are included.

Elliott Andersen, fresh from a club-record move from Newcastle to Nottingham Forest, brings Scottish representation to the engine room.

Forwards: Marcus Rashford (England), Jack Grealish (England), Brennan Johnson (Wales), Noni Madueke (England), Morgan Rogers (England).

Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish were perhaps the biggest omissions from England’s Euro 2024 squad and add star appeal to our GB selection.

Rashford starts at centre-forward in a team lacking a recognised number nine, though there’s plenty of firepower in support with Brennan Johnson, Noni Madueke and Morgan Rogers all capable of chipping in with goals from the wide positions.

Could this squad win the gold medal? Let us know in the comments below!

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