Gareth Southgate explains why Marcus Rashford will NOT go to EURO 2024

Gareth Southgate has chosen not to select Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford for the upcoming 2024 European Championships this summer.

On Tuesday afternoon, England manager Gareth Southgate released his initial training squad, which includes three Manchester United players, ahead of the 2024 European Championships this summer.

Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, and Harry Maguire will all train with the 33-man squad ahead of the tournament in Germany. Southgate has yet to select the final 26 players who will travel across the channel to mainland Europe.

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While those three will all meet at St. George’s Park in the next few weeks, forward Marcus Rashford has been left out of the squad, alongside Man United’s Jadon Sancho, who is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

The decision has shocked many, but with plenty of talented wingers such as Anthony Gordon, Jarrad Bowen, and Eberechi Eze making the team, it is not likely to raise too many eyebrows.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Southgate said: “hese are, of course, difficult calls. You’re talking about players who are very good players and who’ve been an important part of what we’ve done over a number of years.

“So, with Marcus, I just feel that other players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons. It’s as simple as that.”

Rashford had a significant impact during the 2022 World Cup, scoring three goals for England, but was ultimately not preferred to those such as Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka.

“I have to say, all the boys, when I’ve spoken to them, Ben [Chilwell], Marcus, Jordan [Henderson], who were the three that were with us last time, they were incredibly professional and considering the disappointment, they dealt with it very well.”