‘As simple as that’: Rashford breaks silence on England omission as Southgate details reasoning behind decision

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Marcus Rashford has been omitted from Gareth Southgate’s provisional Euros squad.

The manager named his 30-man selection this afternoon, which he will need to trim down to 26 players following England’s warm-up friendlies at the beginning of June.

Their first fixture of the tournament is penned in for June 16 against Serbia, and as has been the case in recent years, the Three Lions are among the major favourites to go all the way and clinch the trophy in Germany.

While Rashford missed out, his fellow Manchester United teammates Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw were all called up, despite the latter struggling with yet another injury-plagued season.

Mainoo, 19, has been granted a second consecutive inclusion just two months on from making his senior international debut.

Confirming the #ThreeLions' pre-#EURO2024 training squad! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

— England (@England) May 21, 2024

Rashford reacts as Southgate has his say

Reacting to the official announcement at 2pm, United’s No.10 took to Instagram to wish his nation well. He shared a story that reads: “Wishing Gareth and the boys all the best for the up-and-coming tournament.”

Meanwhile, Southgate explained the reasoning behind his decision in his subsequent press conference.

“These are difficult calls… players who are very good players. With Marcus, I just feel other players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons. It’s as simple as that.”

Rashford, 26, has scored eight times in 42 appearances across all competitions this term, yet Jack Grealish, who has scored three goals and started just 10 Premier League games, has made the cut.