Four months after England fell to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, Cole Palmer revealed the frustrating lows of his time playing under Gareth Southgate.
Prior to suiting up for the Three Lions, Palmer finished his 2023–24 campaign with Chelsea in top form. The 22-year-old recorded 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, finishing second in goalscoring behind only Manchester City's Erling Haaland. Palmer seemed poised to help England finally get over the line after disappointments at Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but he found himself on the bench more often than not.
“It was frustrating at England, to be fair,” Palmer said in an interview with British GQ. “Not to say that the players aren’t good. But just coming off the back of the season I had, the form I was in, everything I was doing was coming off… so I’m not playing in the first two games even when the team was struggling, it was a bit like, Why? Do you know what I mean?”
England only managed to score two goals in its first two matches at Euro 2024 against inferior opponents Serbia and Denmark, and yet Palmer never saw a minute of playing time. He finally made his first appearance at the tournament against Slovenia when he came off the bench in the 71st minute.
