Manchester United fans are calling for Gareth Southgate to start Marcus Rashford for England’s forthcoming friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park.
Rashford came off the bench in the second half of England’s 1-1 draw with Ukraine in their Euro 2024 qualifying match on Saturday.
Furious fans slammed Southgate over his decision to leave Rashford out of the starting XI against Ukraine, opting for in-form Tottenham star James Maddison.
Rashford was in red-hot form for England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the United forward scored three times in five appearances at the tournament.
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United fans want Rashford to start for England
One fan posted: “If [Gareth] Southgate doesn’t start Marcus Rashford today, it shows how unserious he is as a manager…”
Someone else commented: “Rashford [is] continuously on the bench for England. If [he] doesn’t start this evening, at what point does he stop playing for England until a new manager comes in? Southgate obviously doesn’t like or rate him.”
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“Rashford ready to face [Scott] McTominay’s Scotland. Southgate should start our main man,” a third tweeted.
While another wrote: “Southgate is to blame for Rashford not [being] on that [Ballon d’Or] list.”
And a fifth simply said: “Rashford needs to start [against Scotland].”
Why Southgate likes Marcus Rashford as a sub option
Southgate, whose current England deal will expire at the end of 2024, hasn’t been afraid to keep Rashford out of the starting XI amid fierce fan backlash.
According to the England manager, Rashford’s “mentality” coming off the bench is positive and that could help turn the tide in favour of the Three Lions.
Southgate has opted to deploy the United star out on the left, but he admitted that Rashford has started to make a “bigger impact” as he improves as a No 9.
“At the moment, I still think he’s better from the left than as a No 9 but he’s definitely made progress as a nine this year and had a bigger impact,” he said in June, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“I always think he’s a good player as a sub, his mentality is always good when he comes on as a sub, but nobody wants to be seen as a good sub.
“You want to start games.”