Serbian football icon Nemanja Matic was not satisfied with England coach Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad. England’s announcement of their final squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 saw big names like Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford miss the cut. This led to Matic question the England manager’s decision to leave out the two crucial players from the squad for the UEFA event.
Sharing a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Matic talked about how he would have liked to see Grealish and Rashford compete in the international tournament. “I would always like to have players like Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish in the team, players who can decide the game with one move!”
I would always like to have players like @MarcusRashford and @JackGrealish in the team, players who can decide the game with one move!Not selected/good news for us— Nemanja Matic (@NemanjaMatic) June 7, 2024
Speaking further in his post, Nemanja Matic highlighted that he was also somewhat happy to see the omissions. Pointing out that England were set to take on Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener, the ex-Manchester United player was relieved to know that his side will not have to deal with either Marcus Rashford or Jack Grealish. “Not selected/good news for us,” Matic wrote.
The shocking omission reportedly caught Grealish off guard as the Manchester City winger was already preparing to join the squad in their upcoming friendly against Iceland. As per a report from The Telegraph, England players were quite surprised by Southgate’s decision to leave Grealish out. The abrupt decision reportedly resulted in a senior member of the team approaching the manager to better understand his reasoning and to explain the same to the squad.
As for Rashford, Southgate explained why he refrained from adding the Manchester United footballer to the team.
“The determining factor was the injury he picked up in the last camp,” Southgate said.
He added that due to recent fitness issues, Rashford will not be able to handle the intensity of the upcoming challenge. “He’s missed five weeks and hasn’t been able to get to the intensity required,” Southgate concluded.
The official deadline day for the Euro 2024 squad announcement was set on June 7 by UEFA. England were able to shorten their preliminary 33-man squad ahead of the set time. Other major names to face the axe include Harry Maguire, James Maddison and Curtis Jones. England will play Euro 2024 opener in Germany on June 17. The Three Lions will then face Denmark on June 20 before taking on Slovenia on June 26.
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