Former Stocksbridge Park Steels striker Jamie Vardy, one-time Sheffield United right-back Kyle Walker, Dronfield-born centre-half Gary Cahill, ex-Barnsley defender John Stones and Doncaster-born left-back Danny Rose have all made Hodgson’s pick.
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Others to miss out closely due to Rashford’s inclusion may include the West Ham pair Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio, with it being widely argued that the alternative, more direct option Carroll offers is worth having on the bench, should England be pining for a goal.
Townsend is given the spot that would otherwise have been destined for Danny Welbeck, with Manchester United’s teenage starlet Marcus Rashford also included.
Hodgson selected five strikers in his provisional list which will be reduced to 23 before the tournament, with Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney and Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge the others. Fellow winger Andros Townsend was preferred to Walcott after finishing the Premier League season with impressive displays for relegated Newcastle.
Midfielders Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson were also picked after recently making their returns after injuries but most prove their fitness to Hodgson. “The competition for him is quite strong and he’ll understand that, but he deserves to be selected in this larger squad and it will be very interesting to see what he can do”. Couple this with him being a relatively unknown prospect for defenders and at best he may be able to come close to emulating Wayne Rooney’s exploits at Euro 2004.
The midfielder suffered a broken leg in August but his last appearance for England, against Slovenia in June 2015, saw him score twice in a 3-2 win.
Hodgson has challenged Rashford to knock one of England’s current strikers “off their perch”.
England manager Roy Hodgson felt reassured by the prompt reaction of the police and emergency services during Sunday’s bomb scare at Old Trafford, he said on Monday.
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“We needed some extra bodies on this occasion”.
