'It's sad to see' - Marcus Rashford compared to Paul Gascoigne as Man United ace is hit with stinging reality after England snub

To the surprise of many, Rashford's name did not appear on the list of England players who would be heading to Germany for Euro 2024. The Manchester United winger struggled to hit his best form in the Premier League last season and did not even make the bolstered provisional squad. Former Three Lions international David Seaman has compared his situation to Paul Gascoigne, who did not return to the national team after not being included for the 1998 World Cup.

Rashford has gone from hero to zero for both club and country as he sits and watches this summer's tournament from home. While he is capable of performing moments of magic, Southgate prides himself on consistency and form, something the 26-year-old has had nothing of in 2023-24. He has a lot of work to do if he is to play himself back into the squad following Euro 2024 ahead of the likes of Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer.

In his column for Betway Insider, Seaman said: "The Rashford situation makes me think back to Glenn Hoddle leaving Paul Gascoigne out for the 1998 World Cup. We all had our allotted times to see the manager, and when Gazza went in, I had no idea of what was going to happen. He found out he wasn’t going and had a huge argument with Glen Hoddle. Gazza was so devastated, it was hard to pick him up and get him on the plane home.

"I’d never have imagined that would be the end of his England career. He wasn’t always fit, but he was still so brilliant and always seemed to make an impact. Once the manager’s made that call, though, it doesn’t look good. It can happen in football – you get left out once, and that’s it, you’re done."

Seaman added: "It's sad to see one of England's best players struggling, though, because everybody knows what Marcus is capable of."

The Manchester United man posted a good luck message to his international teammates ahead of their trip to Germany and it is likely that watching from a TV screen will only motivate Rashford to pick up the levels again. He only bagged seven goals in the Premier League last season but in 2022-23 he hit 17.