England manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is a genuine contender to make England’s final 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
Hodgson announced his provisional squad for friendlies against Turkey and Australia on Monday morning, with Rashford being the surprise inclusion.
Rashford, who only made his senior debut for Man Utd in February, has scored seven goals and notched two assists since coming into Louis van Gaal’s first team, and according to Roy Hodgson the 18-year-old is ready for the step-up to international football.
“He’s one of the contenders, of course,” Hodgson told reporters.
“The competition for him is quite strong and he understands that, but I think he deserves to be selected in this larger squad.
“It’ll be very interesting to see what he can do this week before I name the final 23, but I’m pleased that someone who’s had such an outstanding end to the season [is included]. He’s a young player who has obviously got a future if he can continue to develop as he has so far.
“It’s great to be able to include him and there’s no reason why, if he does exceptionally well, he can’t knock someone off their perch. But I must make it clear that will be harder than some people expect because people have played over the last two years and done a good job for us.”
In order to make the final squad, Rashford will have to compete with the likes of Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and his Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney.
Speaking on the decision to call-up Wayne Rooney, who has scored seven Premier League goals in 27 appearances this season, Hodgson said:
“Wayne Rooney is the captain and he’s done a fantastic job for England.
“He’s got a terrific record and there aren’t many players at international level who will reach that level of success. He’s been very important to us during the qualifiers and we’re very grateful for the goals he scored and the work he did for us.
“In terms of selecting a team [in England’s Euro 2016 opener] against Russia, I’ve got three matches before that. Who knows what’s going to happen in those games?
“Wayne Rooney is a very important part of our squad but to my knowledge he certainly isn’t demanding to play in the opening game, and I’m under no pressure to select him in the opening game unless I feel he’s the best man for the job.”
In contrast to England’s squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the experience of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in midfield have been replaced by the youth of Dele Alli and Eric Dier.
Hodgson said that despite a lack of experience, his side are still an ‘exciting’ and ‘energetic’ team.
“The squad this time is younger. There are a lot of players who haven’t got an awful lot of international experience, but they’ve shown over the last games that they’re an exciting bunch,” he added.
“They’re hungry, they’re enthusiastic, they’re energetic and there’s a lot of running in the team. I think all of these things are positives and we can only hope that the faith we have in them is rewarded. The one thing I do know is they won’t let anyone down for wont of trying. All we can do is take each game as it comes and see how far it takes us.”
It is expected that the decision on the final squad will be made after England’s friendly with Australia on May 27th, ahead of the deadline set by UEFA which is on May 31st.
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