Ruthless Gareth Southgate times his moment right to shed layers of loyalty

The England manager has made big calls in omitting Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford from Euro 2024 … but the right ones

Henderson with manager Gareth Southgate

Farewell, then, and thanks for all the almost-but-not-quites. From a rational point of view there shouldn’t be much to say about Gareth Southgate’s decision not to include Marcus Rashford or Jordan Henderson in his plans for Euro 2024.

On the other hand, well, this is England, old bean. And being rational has never really had much to do with it. More than ever in the age of tribal celebrity and online Southgate-truthers, every call and every cut must be unpacked for its wider significance, even when this adds up to little more than rationalising two entirely sensible decisions.