By Jamie Spencer
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is not expected to be on the list when Gareth Southgate names his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday afternoon.
Southgate has shown something of a ruthless side as he looks to include fresh blood in the group that will be cut down to a 26-player squad at a later date, with Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton a surprise inclusion, and other fringe names making the longlist.
Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling are out of the picture this time, which could be terminal for the former's international career, and The Athletic has reported that Rashford is missing too.
The 26-year-old, who stormed his way into England's Euro 2016 squad at the age of 18, has struggled with injuries in recent weeks and has seen his club form dip. Following a career best return of 30 goals in 2022/23, Rashford has managed just eight in 2023/24.
Although he is well established at international level and has 60 caps to his name, doubts about his place at Euro 2024 have been circulating for some time. Now that the tournament is upon us, it seems he hasn't done enough for Southgate to pick him ahead of other options like Ivan Toney, Jarrod Bowen and Cole Palmer. It means Rashford's run of four successive tournaments is over.
Even with his form questioned, Rashford being dropped is quite sudden. Unlike Sterling, who hasn't been involved since the 2022 World Cup, the United player was part of the squad for the most recent international break in March and hasn't been left out for almost two years.
England will play warm-up friendlies against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland on home soil in the first week of June, before heading to western Germany and setting up base camp for the group stage that will see them face Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Man Utd star dropped by England ahead of Euro 2024.
