Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were smiling away during an England training session in Darlington on Wednesday.
On a club level, there were struggles for form, although last weekend’s FA Cup success concluded their season with a silver lining, before both players joined up with the England camp.
Maguire and Shaw both joined up with their international comrades earlier than expected as they look to prove their fitness ahead of Euro 2024, and confirm their spot in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for Germany.
There were also smiles from Trent Alexander-Arnold and James Maddison during England’s first training session ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
Southgate’s Three Lions have friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland before their Group C campaign gets underway against Serbia on June 16.
Shaw recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a muscle injury that has sidelined him since mid-February, while Maguire has been out for a month with a similar issue.
England usually train at the national training centre St George’s Park, but Darlington is closer to St James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United, and the location of the first of their two pre-tournament friendlies next week.
Manchester City and Man United players are excused from the early training sessions for their exploits in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
Man City quartet John Stones, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are all absent, along with 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who scored in Man United’s 2-1 win at Wembley.
Those five players will not feature against Bosnia in Newcastle, but could play against Iceland later in the week.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham will also be a late arrival to the camp, and will miss both of England’s friendlies next week after his expected involvement in the Champions League final this weekend.
However, other players have been summoned to the England training camp in the north-west of England, including the four Crystal Palace players in Southgate’s extended squad, including Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton, who received his first senior call-up in this squad announcement.
Aston Villa players Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins also took part in the training session in Darlington, ahead of next week’s friendlies, which may be crucial in forcing their way into the finalised squad for the tournament.
England captain Harry Kane also returned to the country after his exploits for Bayern Munich this season, breaking all sorts of debut records in the Bundesliga, and hoping for similar success in Germany with the national team in June and July.
After their opening group stage game against Serbia, England also have matches against Denmark and Slovenia, as they look to qualify for the knockout stages of Euro 2024.
England were defeated finalists at Euro 2020, played in 2021, and will be expected to be among the final teams in Germany this summer.
