Gareth Southgate has told Manchester United stars Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford that they must shine under Erik ten Hag to revive their World Cup dreams. Sancho and Rashford have both been omitted from the England squad for the upcoming Nations League games.
Over the space of 10 days the Three Lions will take on Hungary twice, Germany and their Euro 2020 opponents Italy. They do so without Sancho and Rashford after they paid the price for patchy club form.
Having painfully missed penalties during the Euro 2020 showpiece last summer, Sancho has only played 73 minutes for England and Rashford has not appeared since that devastating defeat. It means the pair face a huge challenge to make it into the final group for Qatar.
READ MORE: England forward Jadon Sancho names his favoured Manchester United position
Beyond this international break, Southgate and his Three Lions will only get together one more time (in September) before turning their attention to Qatar. Of course, he knows full well what Sancho and Rashford are capable of, but they must go on to prove it for United and Ten Hag.
Southgate said: "There's enough of a block of games at the beginning of next season that people can still play their way in [to the World Cup squad]. Of course, the closer we get, the more difficult it is.
"But they've [Sancho and Rashford] got to start playing well with their clubs. Neither of them have really played at the end of the season. England is a consequence of what you're doing at your club and you've got to get your club bit right."
Southgate continued: "At the moment there's obviously room for those two, compared to others in those positions that we've picked, since their level hasn't been at the level of the others. It depends on getting in the team and then impressing the manager there and starting the season well."
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
