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Marcus Rashford in England squad - Townsend and Drinkwater miss out

Marcus Rashford in England squad - Townsend and Drinkwater miss out
29.05.2020 00:32
Manchester United's teenage striker Marcus Rashford has been named in Roy Hodgson's 23-man England squad for the 2016 European Championship in France.

Rashford, 18, scored on his international debut in the 2-1 friendly victory over Australia on Friday.

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is also included, but Newcastle United's Andros Townsend and Leicester City's Danny Drinkwater both miss out.

England face Portugal in their last Euro 2016 warm-up match on Thursday.

Hodgson's side begin their campaign in France by playing Russia on 11 June, before meeting Wales on 16 June and Slovakia on 20 June.

Rashford, who signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United on Monday, only made his first-team debut on 25 February, but scored eight goals in 18 club games to earn an international call-up.

Sturridge, 26, missed England's last two friendly matches but did take part in a training session on Monday.

He also trained at Watford's training ground on Tuesday, along with Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, with all three considered fully fit.

Southampton full-back Ryan Bertrand, 26, is carrying an unspecified injury but even if he does not play against Portugal at Wembley, he is not regarded as a fitness concern for the tournament.

Drinkwater helped Leicester claim a shock Premier League title, while Townsend - included in the preliminary squad predominantly as cover - was a member of the Newcastle team relegated from the top flight.

The pair were told of their omissions by Hodgson on an individual basis in the manager's hotel room following training.

BBC Sport understands both took the news in a respectful, professional way and wished Hodgson and the team well.

The rest of the squad were informed of Hodgson's selections at a team meeting shortly afterwards.

Drinkwater and Townsend said goodbye to everyone involved before leaving the England camp and will not be on standby for the tournament.

Drinkwater said later he was "disappointed" not to make the final 23 but described the season as a "huge positive".

Former England winger Trevor Sinclair told BBC Radio 5 live: "For me Drinkwater has had such a good season and played such a pivotal part in Leicester's success, he deserves to be in the squad.

"I think he's had an absolutely outstanding season. He's shown what he can do at international level. What he does on the pitch a lot of the time goes unnoticed. He works so unselfishly for the team, I think he may be a big miss for the England squad.

"Townsend will feel unlucky because he's had a great finish to the season, despite Newcastle getting relegated.

"What I will say is, at least he's getting looked at. While he was at Tottenham he wasn't even getting the opportunity because he wasn't playing."

Hodgson initially named a 26-man squad after the final round of Premier League games, having intended to reveal his final selection on 12 May until injury concerns prompted a delay.

That was cut to 25 when Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph was moved to the standby list after picking up an injury.

Hodgson's squad is the youngest to represent England at a European Championship, with an average age of 25.

(BBC)

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