Newcastle's Nick Pope breaks silence on Euro 2024 snub
Newcastle United starting goalkeeper and former England international revealed after the 2-0 win over Hull in the first pre-season friendly of the Magpies summer that he received “no explanation” about his omission from the Three Lions squad competing at Euro 2024.
Pope, who has not been called up by England since May 2023 after undergoing hand surgery, revealed that he was not given any reason for not being called up for the international tourney.
“No, I don’t think so,” Pope said after the 2-0 week. “It’s part of football, it’s part of life. Obviously it’s a difficult decision for the manager. England (and everything around it) always makes it a tough decision for the manager.
“You saw that in the summer during the group stages and obviously England were winning games and getting through knockout games and yet there’s still such a high level of scrutiny. It’s a tough job.
“Gareth gave me my debut and my 10 caps were all under him so I’m never, ever going to speak ill of him and the decisions he makes.”
It’s worth noting that Pope, who is still in his prime and young for a goalie at just 32 years old, spent much of the last season sidelined with a dislocated shoulder that definitely hurt his chances at cracking the Euro roster. Despite the setback and his omission from the squad, Pope sounded optimistic about his future with the national team and determined to make it back to the roster.
“Of course (I want back),” Pope said. “I don’t feel like I’m over the hill just yet.”
Pope is gearing up for his third season with Newcastle after joining from Burnley in 2022 for £10 million, which has surely proved to be a bargain signing.
This summer, however, Newcastle has added two new goalkeepers to their roster ahead of next season in Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy. That said, Martin Dubravka is expected to depart the club before September 1.
“We’ve gelled really well with two great characters and really experienced goalkeepers coming in. It’s great for the goalkeeper group and the team as well because they’re two good characters who have fit in straight away which is credit to them as well,” Pope said about the arrivals in goal.
Pope initially suffered a shoulder injury in December 2023 during a Premier League match against Manchester United, but he was able to return to the field for the final matchday of the 2023-24 season. That, however, wasn’t enough for Gareth Southgate to trust him so much as to give him one of the three slots in his Euro 2024 squad.
“I sacrificed a lot and a lot of work goes into [recovery], a lot harder than when you’re playing. I come back with a huge amount of gratitude to be able to train and play and be around the lads,” Pope said following the Hull game before discussing his performance. “Always nice [to win and keep a clean sheet], I thought we took on the test well in a different game against good opposition.”
Pope was part of the Newcastle squad traveling to Japan for friendly matches against Urawa Red Diamonds and Yokohama F. Marinos, a stint in which he will inevitably have to get ready with the first game of the Premier League season coming soon enough on August 17.
“It’s a really important part of pre-season, we’ve built a good foundation over the last couple of weeks since being back and then with the game [at Hull],” Pope said.
