Sancho paying price at Euro 2020 after Gareth Southgate’s U-turn
Jack Grealish has been handed his first start for England at Euro 2020 but Jadon Sancho has, once again, been left out for the clash with Czech Republic at Wembley.
The Borussia Dortmund star’s omission from the matchday squad against Croatia raised plenty of eyebrows.
But Gareth Southgate’s decision to again leave him out during the draw with Scotland has seen increased scrutiny of his selection.
England, despite gathering four points, have been largely underwhelming and their lack of ambition in attack has come in for criticism.
Harry Kane’s lack of service has been linked to his quiet tournament and calls are increasing for more creativity.
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Grealish will help in that department with his ability to take players on certainly a plus.
He too has had to bide his time with a substitute cameo against the Scots his only action so far.
Southgate has defended his use of Sancho in recent days insisting the unique demands of a major tournament requires him to manage his players differently.
He said: “We’ve got some explosive options and a lot of them are young players and experiencing a big tournament for the first time.
“So as a coaching staff we are realistic about our expectations of them as individuals.
“Jadon is in that mix. He’s trained well the last few days and of course we have got those options and those decisions to make.”
His apparent concerns about expectations at major events are somewhat surprising given how Sancho has performed on some of the biggest stages.
With Dortmund he has played in heavyweight Champions League games and taken part in crunch Bundesliga clashes.
Southgate’s take also seems to contradict what he said after handing Sancho his Three Lions debut back in 2018.
The then teenager came off the bench against Croatia and has since been a fixture in squads under Southgate.