Man Utd prodigy continues England teenage tradition

Undoubtedly, the most noticeable shock inclusion of Roy Hodgson’s England preliminary squad for Euro 2016 is 18-year-old Marcus Rashford.

The Manchester United youngster has never been called up for the Three Lions before, but seven goals in his first 16 games has seen Rashford grab Hodgson’s attention.

Amazingly, the Red Devils star wasn’t even alive when Terry Venables’ side made the semi-final of Euro 1996.

Indeed, the forward’s inclusion is what most caught the eye of those in the Twitterverse, with his name the second top trend in the country within minutes of the announcement and many were unsure about his selection.

Scratching my head at Rashford over Defoe. 18 goals in a struggling side, played major tournaments before, bang in form…

— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) May 16, 2016

Just proves the naming of #Rashford was a shock. He’s been photoshopped onto Chris Smalling’s body… #England pic.twitter.com/0bRS10paOF

— James McCarthy (@JMcCarthyLIVE) May 16, 2016

If the youngster makes it to the European Championship he will be carrying on a tradition that the national side has followed for most tournaments.

Other than the 2002 World Cup, every England manager this decade has taken at least one teenager to a competition, with Hodgson himself opting for two for the 2014 World Cup.

Additionally, Theo Walcott famously got a seat on the plane for the 2006 World Cup at the age of just 17, but will not be going to Euro 2016.

The Arsenal man headlines a list of noticeable absentees including Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones, with Hodgson favouring people who have performed well this season rather than established names.

Few would have expected Rashford, Eric Dier, Danny Drinkwater, Jamie Vardy and Dele Alli to be heading to France at the start of the campaign, but they’ve all done enough to make the 26.

However, the names will need be trimmed down to 23 by the start of the competition, with many speculating Rashford and Drinkwater will be amongst the casualties.

Fabian Delph is the other player being tipped to miss out, with that trio regularly being touted on Twitter to be dropped.

Townsend
Drinkwater
Delph
Rashford

1 will make it, 3 won’t.@talkSPORT #MNFN 7pm

— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) May 16, 2016

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.