Sport

Marcus Rashford among those left out of England’s provisional Euro 2024 squad

There are some notable exclusions.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 21st May 2024

The first England squad for Euro 2024 has been revealed and a few notable names have not been included in the provisional list of players, namely Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Having had a bit of an off-season at club level as well as struggling with a number of injury issues, the 26-year-old has already been in and out of Erik ten Hag‘s team over recent weeks and months.

As a result, he has seemingly been left out of Gareth Southgate‘s first round of picks for the Euros, though the final selection for the tournament will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Despite being go-to players under the Three Lions boss in past tournaments, he and former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson look set to miss out on a summer where England are considered one of the favourites for a change, along with former Manchester City man Raheem Sterling too.

Reacting to the news, ex-pro turned pundit Paul Merson admitted he was “shocked” by the decision, especially with Rashford potentially on the verge of picking up an FA Cup this weekend, though the bookies are favouring Man City, who have once again won the Premier League title this season.

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Other notable exclusions include Ben Chilwell and often injury-stricken Chelsea fullback, Reece James – despite Southgate being slim on full-backs as it is – City loanee, Kalvin Phillips, as well as another United man in Jadon Sancho, who has only just regained some form out on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

Elsewhere, fellow teammates Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and youngster Kobbie Mainoo have all been chosen by the national team boss despite some lingering questions surrounding their fitness and experience.

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You can see England’s Euros squad in full down below:

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Once again, plenty can change between now and mid-June; drop-outs are almost inevitable when it comes to major tournaments, not to mention that the likes of the FA Cup and Champions League (with multiple England players featuring across both) could end up giving Southgate another decision to make.

Regardless, of the players that have been chosen for the Euros, England are fortunate to be stacked with plenty of talent, youth and experience. This could very well be the best chance of winning silverware fans could hope for.

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What do you think, is this the team to help bring football home?

England player stats this season are starting to make us think we could actually win Euro 2024
Rashford might not be part of the initial England Euro 2024 squad but there’s lots more quality all over the pitch.

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Featured Images — England/Marcus Rashford (via Instagram)

Sport

Tyson Fury says he hasn’t spoken to his wife in ‘three months’ whilst preparing for Usyk rematch

Danny Jones Danny Jones Tyson Fury hasn't spoke to his wife Paris for three months preparing for Usyk 2 rematch

Tyson Fury says hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris for three whole months while preparing for the much-anticipated Oleksandr Usyk rematch.

The Manc fighter is set to face the Ukrainian counterpart in the ‘Undisputed’ sequel, simply dubbed Fury vs Usyk 2, which will result in one unified heavyweight champion of the world.

Usyk’s victory over the Wythenshawe-born boxer back in May saw him take that title for the first time since 1999 (the only man to have done so in the four-belt era) but with the rematch nearly upon us, Fury could be set to steal that title away from him.

With that in mind, the pressure has clearly been on ever since he lost the first bout and, according to Tyson himself, he hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris Fury for virtually a quarter of a year as part of his immensely strict training camp.

Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the match this weekend, he claimed: “I haven’t spoke to Paris in three months – not a word. [I’ve] not spoke to anyone, I haven’t been on my phone.”

Explaining that he simply removed all distractions to get his head in the right space ahead of the title decider, ‘The Gypsy King’ has been known to isolate himself from the rest of the world before a big fight in the past, but cutting contact with your spouse of 10 years and partner for nearly two decades is wild.

The 36-year-old went on to detail that in order to give himself the best shot at winning, he couldn’t keep switching between “beast mode to dad mode to wife mode” and so on.

In separate interviews with other outlets ahead of the highly-awaited rematch, Fury has made various other big claims about what boxing fans can expect from his own performance, including an admission that he needs to be “more focused this time and not do as much showboating” in the ring.

Nevertheless, he also assured the media that he isn’t a quitter and has promised he will not just “f*** up” his 37-year-old opponent but “retire” him. Usyk, on the other hand, has warned he will be a different challenge than the last time the two faced each other, predicting a knockout victory too.

Having downed Tyson more than once the last time around, he’s understandably confident of his chances.

Bold words from the pair of them, indeed, but this is all just part and parcel of the usual pre-fight build-up; all we really know is that Usyk won the previous face-off and Fury is the one with the point to prove.

While younger brother Tommy Fury recently had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Darren Till, during which tensions seriously boiled over during the first press conference, it looks as though there is no risk of more cancellations and any more ‘will they won’t they?’ antics between these two at least.

The rematch, or ‘Fury vs Usyk 2: Undisputed’ to give use its full title (the latest in Saudi Arabia’s growing fight scene and live sports programming as part of Riyadh Season) takes place this Saturday, 21 December, with the two set to clash once again from 10:25 GMT.

Who do you think will emerge victorious from this one and, more importantly, when do you think we’ll see the third and ‘final’ fight when they inevitably demand a trilogy?…

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Featured Images — paul62_2017 (via Flickr)/Netflix (via screenshot)

Sport

A Manchester City fan has died after a medical incident at Manchester derby

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester City has confirmed one of its supporters has died after a medical incident at the derby match. Credit: The Manc Group

A Manchester City fan has tragically passed away after a medical incident at the Manchester derby yesterday.

The club has confirmed that one of the club’s supporters died after collapsing during the match against Manchester United.

They wrote: “Manchester City are aware of the tragic news that one of our supporters passed away following a medical incident at yesterday’s match.

“The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with their family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”

Man City and Manchester United faced off at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, with Man United eventually taking the win thanks to a 90th-minute goal by Amad Diallo.

An eyewitness told the Manchester Evening News they saw the fan being administered CPR at around 4:10pm.

People have been leaving tributes to the Manchester City fan, who has not yet been named, online.

One person wrote: “RIP that city fan. No one should go to a football match and not come home again. RIP”

Another said: “An important reminder amongst all the squabbling over yesterday’s result is that the football isn’t everything. Thoughts are with his family, RIP blue.”

Someone else posted: “Rip blue. Thoughts are with your family and friends at this sad time.”

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Featured Image – The Manc Group

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