Gareth Southgate has been brutally slammed by furious England fans over his “criminal” decision for the Three Lions’ last-16 World Cup clash against Senegal.
England topped Group B -- two points ahead of the USA -- with a thumping 3-0 win over Wales at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium to punch their ticket to the knockout stages.
A win for the Three Lions against Senegal on Sunday would lead to a hotly anticipated quarter-final showdown against defending World Cup champions France.
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The English FA confirmed ahead of the Senegal match that Southgate would be without Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling, who is unavailable due to a “family matter.”
However, England fans pulled no punches towards Southgate over his controversial change to the Three Lions’ starting XI for the round-of-16 match in Qatar.
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, who scored a sensational brace against Wales, made way from the starting XI in favour of Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka.
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Rashford delivered a show-stealing performance in England’s final Group B match against Wales, which included breaking the deadlock with a sublime free-kick.
The 25-year-old United forward is England’s leading goalscorer at the 2022 World Cup and is two shy of France star Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.
Southgate’s decision to pick Saka ahead of Rashford in England’s starting XI was branded as an “absolutely criminal decision” by one fan on social media.
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One fan said: “Cannot understand Rashford being on the bench.”
“Dropping Rashford and playing [Jordan] Henderson is criminal,” another fan posted.
While one Twitter user wrote: “Rashford puts in a top-class performance and then benched!? F*****g hell, Southgate.”
Someone else tweeted: “The fact that Rashford didn’t make the [England] starting 11 is ridiculous.”
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And a fifth commented: “He has left Rashford out after that incredible performance?”
France will meet the winner of England vs Senegal after a convincing 3-1 win over Poland at the Al-Thumama Stadium on Sunday.
Topics: Gareth Southgate, England, Senegal, Football World Cup, Football, Marcus Rashford
Adnan Riaz