Is the door still open for Jesse Lingard?
Jesse Lingard will have the opportunity to show England manager Gareth Southgate he's 'wrong' this Wednesday evening, after being left out of the Three Lions’ 26-man squad for Euro 2020.
Lingard, who excelled while on loan with West Ham during the second half of the season and helped them to qualify for the Europa League, was one of seven players cut from Southgate’s preliminary selection on Tuesday.
But with the included players from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea still unavailable after participating in last week’s European club finals, Lingard has remained with the national team and will be involved from kick-off in the friendly with Austria at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.
Speaking after the squad announcement, the England manager praised Jesse’s reliability and noted his positive past performances with his country – the 28-year-old was a starter on the run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
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“Jesse has had a good spell with West Ham and is someone who has played so well with England,” said Southgate. “We have total trust in the way he plays, he is reliable, a great member of the group.
“He will start tomorrow [Wednesday] because [Jadon] Sancho is ill and a lot of players are not available.
“He deserves that opportunity to show me I am wrong straight away.”
The door would appear to still be open for Jesse to play a part in the tournament.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the continent and players coming off the back of the most compressed season in living memory, UEFA has tweaked its rules.
Anyone forced out through injury, illness or isolation can be replaced before England’s Group D opener with Croatia on 13 June – so it’s important to have options in the lead-up to the start of the competition, says the Three Lions’ boss.
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“We have to keep the standby players match ready in case they come back into that squad,” Southgate added.
“They deserve it. Their commitment to stay with the group, the respect for their team-mates to be here, shows what playing for England means to this group of players.
“It is important the public know that because sometimes people dismiss the importance of England caps and what it means to players.”
Southgate has selected more players from United and Manchester City - four apiece - than from any other club. Dean Henderson, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford are the chosen quartet of Reds.