It’s not easy being the coach of any national team, especially not England when it comes time to announce the player rosters ahead of major tournaments. Someone will always criticize you for not calling up certain players, others will criticize you for the ones you did call up, some players can’t respond due to injury, and others may have to withdraw later. Whatever happens, the pressure is immense in a country where football is part of the tradition. These days, coaches across the continent are announcing their extended squads for the European Championship in Germany, which will then have to be cut down to 26 names by June 7 at the latest.Rashford and Henderson out of EURO 2024Gareth Southgate has chosen to call up 33 players, and in his address to the public, he stated that since taking over the senior team in 2016, he has never faced a more difficult task. He also commented on the omission of Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson, but also the inclusion of Luke Shaw, even though he is still injured.“There are difficult calls. With Marcus I just feel that players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that. Jordan Henderson has given himself every chance the determining factor is the injury he picked up around the last camp, he has been out five weeks. He just hasn’t been able to get to the intensity since then. Luke Shaw’s up against it. He’s missed a lot of football. The fact that he has been our first choice in that position, we’ve probably given him a lot longer than we would have done. I’m not sure what’s realistic at this time. I have to say, he’s a long shot” said Southgate in front of the media.Very surprised Gareth Southgate has left @MarcusRashford out of his squad. Granted he’s had a poor season by his standards but tournament football is different and he’s always been confident in an England shirt. We’ve many talented attacking players but very few with Rashfords…— Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) May 21, 2024 Manchester United forward had a simple message to his teammates who are going to Germany: ‘Wishing Gareth and the boys all the best in the up-and-coming tournament’ he wrote on his Instagram story. Arsenal’s defender Ben White was not called again as the manager commented that ‘he is not available to us as far as I’m aware’. The interesting question was whether he thought that England could win the competition.“Everybody is waiting for that headline, I’d be an idiot I’d say no. If I say yes, there is a lot of work in front of us” admitted Southgate.##NAJAVA_MECA_8117669##
