Marcus Rashford, the one Gareth Southgate preferred to leave aside for the Euro

Ivan Toney, 28 years old, two caps, zero goals in more than a thousand minutes of play in the Premier League since February 17, was preferred to Marcus Rashford, 26 years old, seventeen goals and sixty caps to his credit, and probably a starter for Manchester United against Manchester City in the FA Cup final this afternoon.

Marcus Rashford, who had participated in all of the Three Lions’ qualifying matches for the upcoming Euros, except the first two – when he was injured -, who started in a crucial 3-1 against Italy played in last October at Wembley, and had also scored the goal which allowed the English to take the advantage in this meeting.

has nothing to do with his current physical condition. He also did not ask to be left aside by his coach, as Ben White did a few months ago. He never failed, quite the contrary, when he wore the jersey of his selection.

In 2021-22, at the end of another rotten season with Manchester United – five goals in thirty-two matches for the Red Devils -, forgotten by Southgate during England’s preparation for the World Cup, he responded present on D-day, to the point of finishing as the selection’s top scorer during the tournament, ahead of Harry Kane, tied with Bukayo Saka, but having scored his three goals at the rate of one every 46 minutes spent on the pitch

This was all yesterday. Nothing at all, or an eternity, it depends. Marcus Rashford will not be in Germany, while Ivan Toney may be there.

Toney, but not Rashford…Gareth Southgate, however, has a reputation for placing loyalty at the forefront of the qualities he looks for in his players, and for practicing what he preaches when it comes to making his choices. Few other managers would have shown as much confidence in Jordan Henderson as he did for so long, when it was obvious that the midfielder who had gone to collect riyals in Saudi Arabia no longer had a place at this level. Henderson was nevertheless part of the group which played in the Euro qualifiers.“

Ivan Toney

It’s no secret that Rashford is experiencing particularly difficult times with his club, and precisely because it is “his” club, with which he has been linked since his early childhood. It’s not the first time either.

Marcus Rashford

Credit: Eurosport

Southgate could have ignored this, as he did in 2022, and been rewarded for it. He preferred to cut to the chase. Some saw it as confirmation that the manager praised for his ability to unite the most diverse personalities around the “England” project was also capable of doing bad to do good. That’s the theory. The practice is that England, logically favorite in a competition that it was very close to winning three years ago, deprived itself of a player who had served it superbly until then, and which almost no other country would choose to deprive itself of. Gareth Southgate is not a gambler, and we have further proof today; because the challenge was not to ignore Rashford, but to welcome him back.