Southgate says he ‘protected’ Rashford with senior call-up
Forward will not feature for England Under-21s Five Spurs men in senior squad for two matches
Gareth Southgate says he has “protected” Marcus Rashford by not making the 19-year-old available for the England Under-21s’ European Championship campaign this summer, instead selecting the Manchester United forward for the senior squad, who play two games next month.
Southgate has omitted Theo Walcott, as he did for the internationals in March, as well as captain Wayne Rooney, signalling that in the attacking positions at least, this is a new era for the England team.
Ross Barkley and Daniel Sturridge are both out requiring treatment to injuries, and have not been included in the 25-man squad to play Scotland in a World Cup qualifier in Glasgow on June 10 and then a friendly against France in Paris three days later.
In the past the Football Association has been keen for players to gain tournament experience in their age-group teams before playing exclusively for the senior side. Harry Kane went to the 2015 Under-21s European Championship, having already made his senior England debut, alongside John Stones and Saido Berahino.
Spain, who are also at the tournament in Poland next month, have selected a number of players capped at senior level in a very strong squad.
Jose Mourinho had opposed Rashford’s inclusion for the Under-21 tournament, arguing that the teenager’s eight senior caps meant he should stay with the seniors. In other countries, it is more common for senior players to go back down to the under-21s to compete in the European Championship – Juan Mata did so in 2011 having been part of the World Cupwinning Spain squad the previous summer.
Southgate says that Southampton’s James Ward-prowse and Nathan Redmond, both capped by the seniors in March, would play for the Under-21s.
Southgate said on the FA website: “He [Rashford] is in the senior squad on merit, and has been for a year. He had one game with the Under-21s when I was there in September and he was outstanding that day, but he’s not really been a part of the Under-21 squad.
“His performances warrant him being in the senior squad. The question then is could he have gone with the Under-21s after that? In my opinion, no. He’s a 19-year-old player who’s had an exceptional season and will have had virtually 60 matches by that point.
“Somebody has to protect him. Somebody has to manage the development of a young player, and that has to be my call. That’s not easy, because I’m very conscious that the development teams and their success is a very important part of what we want to do.
“We still want to fulfil that, and that’s why we’ve got the likes of James Ward-prowse and Nathan Redmond [who were in the senior squad in March] going back with the Under-21s now.
“In my view, Marcus’s situation is different. He’s played fewer games in this Under-21 campaign than Eric Dier and Dele Alli – we’re not sending those guys, and we won’t be sending Marcus.
“In March, it was important that he was with the senior squad, as we didn’t have Harry Kane, Daniel Sturridge or Daniel Welbeck.”
There is a first call-up for rightback Kieran Trippier, one of five Tottenham Hotspur players in the squad, the largest single club contingent. Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson and West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell are also included. Jermain Defoe keeps his place despite having scored just once in nine games for Sunderland since he played – and scored – for England against Lithuania in March.