18-year-old Marcus Rashford was a shock selection in the 26-man provisional squad for Euro 2016.
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“The competition is quite strong, he [Rashford] will understand that, but he deserves to be selected in this larger squad”, Hodgson said, according to the Guardian.
The squad will be trimmed to 23 by May 31, and Rashford is widely expected to be one of the three to miss out, considering he is competing against Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, and captain Wayne Rooney for a spot.
England face Russia, Wales and Slovakia in France next month and Drinkwater believes the Three Lions can win the tournament.
Hodgson had to tell Phil Jagielka and Michael Carrick that they were not part of his plans, and those two, along with Leighton Baines, are unlikely to play for England again.
“We’ve seen this year the example with Leicester City: weeks and weeks turning into months and months of how long can this last?”
Rashford followed that up with another brace against Arsenal a few days later and his seven goals in 16 appearances has been rewarded with the chance to represent England in France this summer, something that manager Roy Hodgson says is a very real possibility. Hodgson addressed the 34-year-old’s omission when asked about the subject in a press conference this week. I think Hart will most certainly have the starting place, and I doubt Heaton will feature at all despite Burnley earning promotion back to the Premier League.
Hodgson must decide what role in the team, if any, Rooney has.
Wilshere, who progressed through Arsenal’s youth system before making his first team debut for the Gunners in 2008, has 28 caps and two goals for England to his name.
Vardy scored 24 goals for the Barclays Premier League champions this season and is joined by team-mate Drinkwater in the provisional squad, which will be reduced to 23 by the end of May.
The 26-man squad will be whittled down to 23 for the final tournament itself, which is set to take place on June 10 – July 10.
But Hodgson also has plenty of attack-minded players in midfield, with Sterling, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana all happy to operate further forward.
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England’s Euro 2016 campaign gets under way against Russian Federation on June 11 in Marseille. “That’s what’s kept me going, and one of the reasons I came back from the MLS”.
