Gareth Southgate admitted it had been a “difficult call” to leave Marcus Rashford out of his provisional Euro 2024 squad but said he couldn’t overlook the Manchester United forward’s disappointing Premier League campaign.
Rashford has been a mainstay for Southgate during his time in charge but was today omitted from the squad for the tournament in Germany with the likes of Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and Cole Palmer preferred in Southgate’s 33-man group that will be trimmed to 26 on June 8.
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The 26-year-old has endured a poor season at Old Trafford, scoring eight goals in all competitions and none since March. He contributed 30 last term.
Southgate said: “These are difficult calls. With Marcus I just feel other players in that area have had better seasons. It’s as simple as that.”
Rashford took to Instagram almost immediately, wishing “Gareth and the boys all the best for the up and coming tournament”.
Another notable omission was Jordan Henderson. The former Liverpool captain risked his international career by opting to leave Anfield last summer for Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq but, having realised his error, attempted to regain Southgate’s trust by moving to Ajax in January.
He has failed to shine in the Eredivisie, however, and struggled with an injury that saw him miss over a month.
Southgate said: “Henderson’s given himself every chance.
“From the last camp, he missed five weeks through injury and he hasn’t been able to get to that tempo since then. It’s a big call to make, the three players from last time, he, Ben [White] and Marcus [Rashford] all had excellent professionalism.
“He [Henderson] will be a miss. He’s an exceptional individual and fantastic human being. He’s been in that leadership role for a long time.
“We’ve got young players with a lot of caps. There’s no reason why young players can’t lead.”
There was speculation Eric Dier might snare a defensive spot given his form since moving to Bayern Munich but he also missed out.
Southgate said: “He’s played very well for Bayern and I know they are very happy with him. He’s just behind the guys we’ve selected. We watch every game and he has played well in the Champions League as well. We’ve assessed all of that.”
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