England: Gareth Southgate names Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice in Euro 2024 'leadership group'

Gareth Southgate has named Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice in England's new four-man “leadership group” for Euro 2024.

Bellingham, 20, and Arsenal's Rice join captain Harry Kane and Kyle Walker in the quartet, which the manager will lean on for advice during the tournament.

Southgate's five-man leadership group at the Qatar World Cup 18 months ago was made up of Kane, Walker, Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier - effectively the elder statesmen of the squad - but the manager suggested Rice and Bellingham have been included to act as a conduit between himself and younger members of the squad.

Southgate has taken a youthful and inexperienced 26-man group to Germany, with 12 players at their first major tournament.

"We have a very open relationship with all of the players," Southgate said ahead of England's opening group game against Serbia here in Gelsenkirchen.

"We have actually put a small leadership group together for this tournament now with Harry [Kane], Kyle Walker, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham because there's a different dynamic to this group.

"There's a lot of younger players and I want to make sure that the voices of the younger players I am in touch with that as well.

"So, I don’t want to leave here with any stone unturned. I don’t want to have missed anything. It's always important to know what the players are thinking.

"They have good views, they have good experiences and, also, there will be some decisions I will take without talking to any of them.

"I want the opinions of the four boys but also they're involved with different age groups in the squad so they'll be able to pick up with different areas of the squad.

"We've got 26, it's not easy to keep track of how everyone is every day. You want to open up that dialogue.

"Sometimes with younger players, they're going to be a little bit more reluctant to approach the head coach and talk about what they're thinking, so you want a sense check of what's going on on the ground.

"Those boys are leaders, the squad has taken on a younger dynamic so it’s important they start to embrace more responsibility in those areas.

"It shouldn't just be for the older players to lead, a lot of our younger players have a lot of caps and a lot of big-match experience.

"I could have put more into the group but I think four's enough. We'll meet regularly and feed back on everything, basically."

Bellingham's inclusion at just 20 continues the rapid rise of the Real Madrid midfielder, although Southgate is wary of putting too much pressure of his shoulders.

"He’s a young player, one of a number of very important players in the team," Southgate said.

"We shouldn’t be expecting him to carry the load for the rest of the team, we share the load around in this team.

"He has a fantastic mindset, tremendous drive and ability to affect big games. He has coped with everything incredibly well at such a young age, coming into our squad playing in the World Cup, moving to the biggest club in the world.

"He’s adapted to all of it. I’m sure not all of it has been straightforward but outwardly he’s coped brilliantly."