Gareth Southgate has warned Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish they must finish the season strongly to be named in the England squad for Euro 2024 this summer.
Southgate announced his Three Lions squad for March’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium on Friday. While there was room for Manchester United forward Rashford, Manchester City’s Jack Grealish was left out having just returned from injury.
Both players have struggled for consistency in 2023/24 and, with England boasting an embarrassment of riches in attacking areas, Southgate admitted Rashford and Grealish face a fight to be included in his squad.
He said: “He [Rashford] has a battle on his hands with Gordon, with [Cole] Palmer, with [Phil] Foden – so we’ve got big competition for places in that area of the field.
“What happens while players are with their clubs is club matters because they know the full story. They know exactly what’s going on. We observe everything. I don’t say behaviours off the field are irrelevant because clearly they’re not.
“But the key thing is we are mainly focusing on the performances on the field. He’s got big competition. So has Jack.”
Southgate handed a maiden call-up to Newcastle star Anthony Gordon, while there were also inclusions for Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen.
He added: “These guys are playing well – Gordon, Bowen, they’re scoring regularly, they perform well, defend well, work hard, they compete and we’ve got really good options in that area of the pitch. I can’t guarantee anybody [a place in the squad]. We have to have an environment where we know in certain positions who our best players might be.
“We know what Marcus can bring to us but equally everybody has got to perform well between now and the end of the season.”
