Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has hit out at England coach, Gareth Southgate, for suggesting Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho lacks experience on the big stage.
Sancho is one of the highest-rated attacking players in European football but has not played a minute at Euro 2020 so far for England.
The 21-year-old was also an unused substitute in England’s 0-0 draw against Scotland last Friday.
Asked why Sancho is yet to feature for England at the tournament, Southgate told reporters, ahead of the Three Lions’ clash with Czech Republic on Tuesday, that he has some explosive options and a lot of his players are young and experiencing a big tournament for the first time.
However, reacting to the development, Ferdinand, on his Vibe With Five YouTube show, faulted Southgate by saying that Sancho has played more games than Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham at the top level.
He said, “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.
“You go on what they have done at their club and the last three years, in terms of output, Sancho has been the second-best player in terms of goal involvement over the last three years – and he’s done it at Dortmund.
“So to think that you are talking about experience… he has played more games than [Phil] Foden at the top level as well as [Mason] Mount and [Jude] Bellingham.”
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