England 17th 

©TM/IMAGO

The festival of football that is Euro 2024 is well underway and so far it’s not disappointed. We have been treated to some enthralling encounters, with goals flying in and a couple of upsets already making things look very interesting. Young stars such as Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal have already announced themselves at the Euros with great displays in their nation’s opening games, but could experience be the key to going all the way in Germany this summer?

Germany have the oldest squad at the tournament with an average age of 28.5 years old, but plenty of other countries will be relying on more experienced heads. Cristiano Ronaldo will be breaking another record this summer as he plays in his sixth Euros. The Al-Nassr forward currently holds the record having already played in five tournaments, although he will be joined on five by Croatia’s Luka Modric and Portugal teammate Pepe this summer. So which squads competing at Euro 2024 have the most overall combined international caps in their squads? Don’t fear, Transfermarkt have you covered.

The squads with the most overall caps at Euro 2024

Leading the way are 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia, who boast a whopping 1,184 caps from their 26 man squad. They have four players with over 100 caps in their ranks – Modric (176), Ivan Perisic (132), Domagoj Vida (105), and Mateo Kovacic (102). Their experience failed to show in their 3-0 opening defeat to Spain on Saturday, but they will be hoping the older heads can provide the calm to get their tournament back on track. In second place is Portugal with a combined 1,147 caps in their ranks. Led of course by Ronaldo with a mind-boggling 207 international appearances. Pepe (137) and Rui Patrício (108) also contribute heavily.

In third with 1,125 caps are Switzerland with captain Granit Xhaka their most capped with 126 appearances. They are followed by Denmark with 1,105 – Simon Kjaer (132) and Christian Eriksen (131) lead the way. In fifth is Belgium with 980 – 154 of which come from 37 year old Jan Vertonghen. Next up in sixth is hosts Germany with 964, followed by Slovakia in seventh with 894 combined caps. Just behind them in eighth is Serbia with 893 international appearances. Ninth goes to Ukraine with 882 caps, and completing the top 10 is France with 869 caps.

England ranked 18th for international caps in their Euros squad

As I’m sure you noticed England didn’t place in the top 10, and the ranking of the Three Lions’ squad when it comes to international caps may be a slightly worrying read for supporters. Gareth Southgate’s squad actually come 18th on the list with just 667 caps between them. That’s even lower than Scotland who boast 759. The most experienced player for England is captain Harry Kane with 92 caps. No players reach 100 caps, and in fact, the Three Lions only have five players with 50 or more caps – Kane (92), Kyle Walker (84), John Stones (73), Jordan Pickford (62), and Declan Rice (54).

When we compare the amount of goals in this England squad to other nations competing at Euro 2024, it’s not the prettiest of reading either. It certainly doesn’t equate to the squad market value table where England are top. As you can see in the graphic above, Southgate’s squad actually have the 13th most amount of goals from the 24 nations with 101 goals overall. They are behind the likes of Ukraine, Switzerland, Serbia and Poland. Portugal have over double the amount of goals in their squad (229). Will lack of international experience be what holds England back this summer?