Marcus Rashford has been named in Thomas Tuchel's first England XI
Thomas Tuchel has handed Marcus Rashford an immediate England recall after naming his first XI. The Three Lions take on Albania on Friday evening in what represents Tuchel's first match in charge.
The German officially started the role in January after being appointed as Gareth Southgate's successor. He selected his first squad earlier this month, with Rashford earning a recall.
And he has even restored the Manchester United forward to the starting XI. It represents Rashford's first appearance for his country since March 2024, while his last start was in November 2023.
Explaining why he recalled Rashford to the squad, Tuchel said: “I had the feeling that we need to reward him now, we need to feel him, he needs to be close to me, that he does not fall back into old routines.
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"He stepped up his game impressively [at Villa] against the ball. This is the most important point for him – the intensity after ball loss. The tracking back on the side. The sprinting. The hunting down. Making sure you’re in position.
“That he can bully defenders, we know all that … we forgot a little bit about it but we know it. He is a complete package. But at the same time, we want to make sure that he stays on track.”
Elsewhere in the side, Tuchel has elected to keep faith a host of England stalwarts including Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane.
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But there are a few new faces in the side including Newcastle star Dan Burn and Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly. Ezri Konsa, Curtis Jones and Phil Foden round off the team.
There were three Premier League stars axed from the squad entirely for Friday evening's game. Morgan Gibbs-White, who was a late call-up to replace Cole Palmer, is sidelined. And he joins Aaron Ramsdale and Jarell Quansah, the duo also failing to make the 23-man squad.
Following the game with Albania, England are back in action on Monday as they welcome Latvia to Wembley in a World Cup qualifier. Their next fixtures after that come in June, with Andorra and Senegal the Three Lions' opponents.
England XI vs Albania: Pickford, Walker, Burn, Konsa, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Bellingham, Jones, Foden, Rashford, Kane.
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