Gareth Southgate has left Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho out of his England squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
Manchester City’s Kyle Walker also found himself missing out, as Southgate favoured Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s Reece James for the upcoming fixtures. However, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has now ruled Trent Alexander-Arnold out of England duty with a hamstring injury.
There is also potential for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi to earn his first international cap as he joins teammate Connor Gallagher in the squad. England are set to face-off against Switzerland on Saturday, March 26, before taking on Ivory Coast on Tuesday, March 29, with both matches taking place at Wembley Stadium.
Southgate Announces England Squad
Disappointment for United Pair
With the World Cup set to take place in Qatar this November, Rashford and Sancho will be disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity to impress for their country and hopefully stake their claim for a place on the plane. However, Rashford has been used mostly as a substitute under new United boss Ralf Rangnick and Jadon Sancho has only just started to see consistent game-time since joining the club in the summer.
As quoted by The Guardian, Southgate cited the following as his reasons for leaving Rashford out of his squad: “It is a difficult time for him. He’s clearly not at his best. There’s plenty of time, we know a lot about Marcus anyway and hopefully he can rediscover some of his form.”
In the same interview, the England manager said the form of other players keeping Sancho out of the squad, saying: “Because the other attacking players in the squad are slightly ahead of him in the moment in our feeling.”
Guehi Debut
The England Manager also opted to include Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi in the squad, who could be in line to make his senior international debut in either of the fixtures.
When talking about the Palace defender, as reported by Sky Sports, Southgate said: “We know a lot about him through our development teams as well – he’s a junior World Cup winner – so there are some centre halves who are pushing and we’re very close, but we’ve added Marc and Ben White this time and we think it’s a good opportunity to see two slightly younger players and see how they cope being with us.”
Guehi joins Palace teammate Connor Gallagher in the squad, who could be looking to push on following his first senior cap for England against San Marino in November 2021. Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe will likely be trying to do the same as he looks to build on his England career following a strong showing against San Marino where he got himself on the scoresheet.
England Squad in Full
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Nick Pope (Burnley)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold* (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolves), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Roma), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
*Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out by Jurgen Klopp, yet to be replaced.
Main Photo
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