It is now official that coaches at EURO 2024 this summer will have the option to call up to 26 players in their squads and the benches are expanded to 15.
There were suggestions in AFP and L’Equipe today that the squad numbers would be amplified from 23 players to 26 for the summer tournament.
That was then confirmed by UEFA this evening.
It kicks off on June 14 in Germany and runs to July 14, with Italy in a group against Spain, Croatia and Albania.
The expanded teams were already available at EURO 2024, as it was in the post-Covid era and there was a greater risk of players dropping out at short notice.
Expansion for EURO 2024
The plan had been to return to 23 players for this competition, but they seem to have reached a compromise.
The minimum number of players that a coach can bring to the tournament is 23 and the maximum is 26, but they are not obliged to use up all those spots.
It also comes along with the extension of the benches to 15 players, so nobody will be left in the stands.
This is a change from EURO 2020, when there were only 12 on the bench, so three had to be cut from the group on matchday.