England manager Gareth Southgate has explained his decision to leave Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson out of his Euro 2024 squad.
Southgate announced his provisional 33-man squad for the tournament, but Rashford and Henderson, both regulars under his management, were notably absent.
Instead, Southgate surprised many by including five uncapped players: Jarrad Branthwaite, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, Adam Wharton, and James Trafford.
Luke Shaw is also in the squad but is considered a “long shot” due to his ongoing recovery from an injury sustained in February.
Rashford’s exclusion comes after a difficult season with Manchester United, where he managed only seven goals and two assists, contributing to the team’s eighth-place finish. Henderson’s journey has been tumultuous; after leaving Liverpool for Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia last summer, he struggled to adapt and subsequently moved to Ajax in January.
Although he made nine appearances in the Eredivisie, injuries have hampered his season, ultimately leading to his omission from the squad.
Southgate addressed the media, explaining his rationale for leaving Rashford out during a press conference.
He told reporters: “These are of course difficult calls. You are talking about players that are very important players. With Marcus, in that area of the pitch, I feel that other players have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.”
The England boss went on to speak about Henderson’s omission: “Hendo has 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.”
Southgate also offered an update on Shaw’s chances of making the squad. He told reporters: “[Luke Shaw’s] up against it.
He’s missed a lot of football. The fact that he has been our first choice in that position, we’ve probably given him a lot longer than we would have done.
I’ve talked with him and the medical team, we’ve been liaising with Manchester United, I’m not sure what’s realistic at this time. I have to say, he’s a long shot.”