‘Good news for us’ – Serbia legend Nemanja Matic glad two England stars were cut for Euro 2024
Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford's omission from England’s Euro 2024 squad is ‘good news’ for Serbia.
That’s the view of former Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic ahead of the Euro 2024 opener between the sides in Germany.
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Serbia face England in Gelsenkirchen on June 16, hoping to cause an upset against the bookies favourites to lift the trophy.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea star retired from international football in 2020 but has a keen eye on his country's fortunes this summer.
England will be without Rashford and Grealish in Germany as the pair were non included in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.
Despite indifferent seasons at club level for both players, Matic believes the decision to leave them at home is a welcome one for Serbia.
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“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,” the Lyon star posted on social media platform, X.
Rashford, a former Manchester United teammate of Matic, failed to make Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad despite having performed admirably at the World Cup in 2022.
The Manchester United forward posted his best-ever season for his club during the 2022/23 campaign, netting 30 goals as United lifted the Carabao Cup and secured Champions League qualification.
But the 26-year-old struggled to replicate his past heroics, posting just eight goals for the Red Devils this season.
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Rashford has paid the price for his stuttering form as has Manchester City’s Jack Grealish who was cut from the 26-man squad on Thursday.
Grealish has endured a mixed season under Pep Guardiola summed up by the 28-year-old winning a third-consecutive Premier League title only to miss out on representing England at a major tournament.
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Grealish and Tottenham’s James Maddison who are viewed as two stars capable of unlocking tight defences, will watch the Euros from home this summer and Southgate admitted breaking the news to the duo was ‘sad’.
“They’ve been tough calls,” said the England manager. “We've gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair, to get the right rationale.
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“And we back our decisions but recognise we could have gone a different route. Both of the boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates, great boys to work with. So yes, sad to deliver that news to them.”
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