Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho absent from the England squad for new set of friendlies

Manchester United player duo Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have been left out of Gareth Southgate’s England national squad for the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast. The England manager has also omitted Manchester City defender Kyle Walker from his 25-man selected squad for the games to be played at Wembley on March 26 and March 29.

Rashford has really not been himself lately and is experiencing a poor run of form lately in all the competitions. His Man United manager Ralf Rangnick has also supported him and feels that the forward just needs to convert his performances from the training pitch onto the match.

Walker who has been a constant name in the team is also another surprise omission, with liverpool player Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s Reece James the two right-backs that have been included in the squad as England start to concentrate on the upcoming World Cup in Qatar later this year.

“There are other attacking players in our squad who are ahead of him in our opinion. Jadon, in the last few weeks, his performances have improved, but it is an area of the pitch where we have competition for places.

“With Marcus, he is in the same position as everyone else — whether they are in the squad or not they all have to play well in the next period. It is a difficult time for him, he is clearly not at his best.

“There is plenty of time. We know about Marcus, we know what he can bring to us.”

Southgate said speaking about Sancho and Rashford

The England boss, whose team reached the final of Euro 2020 last year, said he did not expect Chelsea’s players to be affected by the sanctions imposed on the club’s owner Roman Abramovich, which include an asset freeze at Stamford Bridge.

“In the life of a footballer there are always distractions,” said Southgate. “Your role is to focus on what you can control and that is the way you train and prepare.

“Everything else is outside of your control. You have to play as well as you can.

“They haven’t called me. What is happening at Chelsea isn’t my business, but football clubs will go on. Unless there is gross mismanagement, football clubs survive.”

Southgate commented on the selection of Defender James and midfielder Mason Mount for the upcoming matches despite their clubs having various troubles.

Injuries have unfortunately ruled out Ben Chilwell and Kalvin Phillips, which leaves  Luke Shaw not only the sole Manchester United player in the squad but also the only recognised left-back in the squad at the moment.

Here is the full England squad selected by Gareth Southgate:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse