At a recent media briefing for England, Gareth Southgate sent a subtle reminder to Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish about the intense competition for starting spots in the England squad.
Quoted by Goal, Southgate said: "Jack’s [Grealish] definitely not out of the picture.
"I spoke to him before I named the squad. But as I said when I named the squad, [Anthony] Gordon and [Jarrod] Bowen are pushing those guys [Rashford and Grealish].
"I think Anthony Gordon has been excellent for his club. And obviously Marcus [Rashford] got on in the first game. But I wanted to see Gordon again.
"I thought James Maddison coming on would have an impact and Bowen has also had a really good camp. So there's competition for places.
"I said when I named the squad there is competition for places in those wide areas.
"A bit of a shame that Cole Palmer missed so much training that we weren't able to put him into the game [against Belgium] at the stage it was having missed most of the week.
"We weren't 100 per cent certain what we would get whereas with Gordon we knew and Maddison we knew. I wouldn't rule Cole out of that equation."
Rashford was called up for a cameo in the first friendly with Brazil and was completely left out of the picture in the 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Unless he maintains his recent goalscoring form (3 goals in as many games) for Manchester United, the 26-year-old faces a battle to represent England at the Euro 2024.
