Marcus Rashford has lost his place in England’s side for their last 16 tie against Senegal at the World Cup, despite starring in their thumping win over Wales.
Rashford scored twice in the 3-0 victory against Wales in England’s final Group B game at the World Cup. The Manchester United man powered in a free-kick from range to open the scoring, before squeezing a shot through Danny Ward’s legs to make it 3-0 after Phil Foden had struck.
He is the Three Lions’ top scorer in the tournament with three goals, after scoring in the 6-2 demolition of Iran in the opening match. But Gareth Southgate has opted to drop the United forward from his starting XI for Sunday’s knockout tie with Senegal.
The England boss has recalled Bukayo Saka to the starting line-up on the left of attack, with the Arsenal man set to support captain Harry Kane. Saka started the tournament as England’s first-choice in the position but was rotated out of the side for the Wales game.
Saka scored twice in the win over Iran and has been entrusted with the responsibility for the Senegal tie. Speaking ahead of the game on Sunday night in Qatar, Southgate addressed the contentious nature of dropping players, but insisted the squad dynamic would make it easier.
“Of course players are disappointed not to start games, they want to, but we’ve got an incredible spirit amongst the group who take that as well as you can expect,” he said.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you make of Gareth Southgate's decision? Comment below.
“They get on with it and, of course, they’ve got to be ready for when their moment comes. Raheem [Sterling] has had two starts and he’s playing at big clubs where you know that you don't necessarily start every game. They do understand that.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals. I think we’ve had control of large parts of all of the games we’ve played. Defensively we've been very strong in the last two in particular so that's a good platform and, as I said, there’s competition in all parts of the pitch which is really important.”
Southgate had the whole squad fit and available to choose from for the match at the Al Bayt Stadium. “It’s a good position to be in,” he added.
“You want your players in confident mood. Our forward players are. In some respects, there’s no right or wrong. Whichever team we go with, we are going to need the bench. It’s great that we have the whole squad fit and available.”
