Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford were left out of Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the summer’s European championships in Germany, sparking suggestions that he has made a grave error
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has praised Gareth Southgate for leaving Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford out of his Euro 2024 squad – claiming that the omissions will only be good news for England’s group stage opponents Serbia.
The England boss seized headlines with the release of his final 26-man Three Lions squad for the summer’s European championships yesterday. Southgate culled notable names including Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Tottenham midfielder James Maddison. Rashford was already not included in the 33-player provisional squad announced late last month.
It’s Grealish’s omission from the final squad list in favour of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, however, that has caused the greatest stir.
The Manchester City winger was paramount to England’s run to the finals at Wembley Stadium at the 2020 Euros. But his form at City over the last term has left plenty to be desired, with the 28-year-old scoring just three goals in the Premier League and manager Pep Guardiola routinely preferring Jérémy Doku in his starting XI.
Rashford, too, has not endured the most scintillating of club campaigns. The 26-year-old managed just eight goals for Erik ten Hag’s United this season, after finding the net 30 times in all competitions in the previous season.
Even so, the absence of both Rashford and Grealish has ostensibly sparked joy in the Serbian camp, particularly from midfielder Matic who considers Southgate’s decision a real treat.
“I would always like to have players like Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish in the team,” Matic said on X. “Players who can decide the game with one move! Not selected/good news for us (Serbia).”
Matic’s Serbia are in the same group as England in the group stage and will be hoping to cause an upset in Germany.
Matic’s sentiments are not in isolation. Germany players have also reportedly been left aghast by Southgate’s decision to name Eze over Grealish. Indeed, according to the Independent, Grealish is perceived as a player who “provokes fear in opposition when he runs at them” and that they do not feel the same about Eze.
Grealish’s popularity in the English dressing room has also left many England teammates surprised at Southgate’s decision.
While the likes of Maddison and Harry Maguire have both expressed their disappointment and issued their support for the Three Lions, Grealish is yet to respond publicly to his dropping.
When asked to explain his decision to leave Grealish at home, Southgate said: “The players took the news respectfully.
“Of course players believe they should be in and that’s why they are top players because they have self belief and they have that mindset. But the fact is we have players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons, particularly in the last six months or so.
“In the attacking areas we are blessed with a lot of options all slightly different. They’ve been tough calls, calls we’ve gone over and over as staff to try and be fair and to try and get the right rationale. We back our decisions, but we recognise we could have gone a different route.”
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