Gareth Southgate leaves Sancho, Lingard out of England squad as Rashford returns

Marcus Rashford is back in the England squad for the first time since Euro 2020 but manager Gareth Southgate has dropped his Manchester United team-mates Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard.

Southgate addressed the media on Thursday after picking a 25-man squad for the final 2022 World Cup qualifiers at home to Albania and away to San Marino.

"They just aren't playing a lot of football compared to the other players in their positions. I know people who say I'm inconsistent, but I don't think I am. If you're playing regularly for your club, you've got a much better chance of us assessing your level compared to the rest of the group. Sometimes there'll be players, there'll be a lot of depth in one position and there might not be as much depth in another position, and a player that is in the position with less depth might have a better chance of getting in with less club time. With these two lads they've got great competition for places in the positions they play. You know, Jesse (Lingard) has had ten or fifteen minutes. I don't know what his form is, what his fitness is really to be able to assess him against the rest of the group. So both of those boys, when I spoke with them, totally understood that, they get it. They know that at the moment they've got to get playing for their clubs and playing well and then England is a bonus on top," he said.

He further added, "Well, with the greatest respect, what I discuss with the FA (Football Association) about my contract is nobody's business but me and the FA. So, as I said, the only thing that I will absolutely share is I think we've got to nail qualification before we sit down and have those conversations in real depth because I think focus has got to be to get the points we need to qualify, to get the team to the World Cup finals and then there's plenty of time to talk those things through."

Rashford returns following shoulder surgery after losing to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final. The biggest omisson to Southgate's squad is that of Sancho but Southgate stressed the 21-year-old needs to play regularly for United. Sancho has made only three Premier League starts since his high-profile move from Borussia Dortmund.

England need four points from their final two games to qualify for Qatar 2022.