Gareth Southgate has warned that Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish face a battle from England’s up-and-coming talent to make his European Championship squad.
Among the favourites to lift the trophy in Germany, the Euro 2020 runners-up continue preparations with March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
This summer’s tournament sees squads go from 26 back to 23-strong selections, meaning some high-profile players are in danger of missing the cut in well-stocked areas.
Grealish faces a fight to feature while Rashford, who has gone to England’s last four tournaments, is the same having under-performed for Manchester United in a season when his Belfast escapades in January made headlines.
Southgate said: “Well, (Rashford) has a battle on his hands with (Anthony) Gordon, with (Cole) Palmer, with (Phil) Foden, so we’ve got big competition for places in that area of the field,” Southgate said.
“What happens while players are with their clubs is club matters because they know the full story, they know exactly what’s gone on. Obviously we observe everything, we don’t miss anything.
“I don’t say behaviours off the field are irrelevant because clearly they’re not. But the key thing is we are mainly focusing on the performances on the field.
“He’s got big competition and so has Jack.
“These guys are playing well – Gordon, (Jarrod) Bowen. They’re scoring regularly, they perform well for the team, they defend well, they work hard, they compete and we’ve got really good options in that area of the pitch.”
Asked if there is a chance Rashford might not make the Euros considering the competition facing him, Southgate said: “I can’t guarantee anybody.
“We have to have an environment where…we know in certain positions who our best players might be.
“Kalvin Phillips I think is still in that position but, at this minute, I can’t go with that, so I’m hoping he can hit that form.
“We know what Marcus can bring to us but equally everybody has got to perform well between now and the end of the season. That’s the environment we’re in.”
Phillips was left out of March’s double-header due to his struggles for form and minutes since joining West Ham on loan in January but Southgate believes he could turn it around in time for the Euros.
There appears less chance of fellow Euro 2020 regular Mason Mount being involved after an injury-impacted end to life at Chelsea was followed by a stop-start time with United.
“The first step for him is to get back playing regularly for Manchester United,” Southgate said as the midfielder prepares to return from a four month lay-off.
“He’s had the best part of 15 months (sidelined), really, because the end of Chelsea he didn’t play with the injury.
“So, he’s got to get back playing, he’s got to find the rhythm, find the fitness, the sharpness.
“But, again, we know what he’s capable of, so he’s somebody that we’ve kept contact with through that period.
“But at the moment you’d have to say he’s an outside bet. I think he would accept that.
“But it’s possible, he’s just got to, like they all have, play well for his club.”
One player playing regularly in a top European league that definitely will not be in England’s Euros squad is Mason Greenwood.
The 22-year-old was suspended by United in January 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.
Greenwood faced charges including attempted rape and assault but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February 2023 that the case had been discontinued.
The one-cap England forward has recommenced his career on loan at LaLiga outfit Getafe on loan and Jamaica are interested in him switching to their national set-up.
“Well, for me, I don’t think it’s something for pre-Euros,” Southgate said.
“I think allowing him to get his career going again abroad appears to have been a good move but I have to say I have not tracked it closely.
“I think at this moment in time that would be a big distraction for the team and let’s see where that leads next season.
“I would need to know more details about the whole thing before it was an option.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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