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Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford will not travel with England to Euro 2024
The two players were axed by Gareth Southgate after disappointing campaigns
Click here to follow Mail Sport's Euro 2024 WhatsApp Channel for all the latest breaking news and updates from Germany

Published: 06:37 EDT, 7 June 2024 | Updated: 10:14 EDT, 7 June 2024

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Former Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic says his nation have been given a boost by the news that Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish will not be lining up against them in their Euro 2024 opener.

The two high-profile Three Lions stars have not been included in Gareth Southgate's final 26-man squad, which was released on Thursday.

England will be facing the Serbs in their first game of the tournament on June 16 and Matic thinks it is a mistake that Rashford and Grealish will not be involved.

The former Chelsea and Man United midfielder tweeted: 'I would always like to have players like @MarcusRashford and @JackGrealish in the team.

'Players who can decide the game with one move! Not selected/good news for us'

Nemanja Matic says it's good for Serbia that Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford were axed

Rashford was the shock omission from England's provisional 33-man squad last month.

The United forward paid the price for an underwhelming season at Old Trafford which yielded only seven goals in 33 league appearances.

On the decision, Southgate said: 'With Marcus I just feel that players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons, it's as simple as that.'

Rashford (left) and Grealish (right) will not be featuring for England at the tournament

Grealish survived that round of the selection process but saw his hopes of featuring at the tournament disappear on Thursday.

The City man was another to suffer the consequences of an uninspiring campaign with his club.

Grealish's departure was reportedly so shocking that one senior member of the team approached the England manager to understand his reasoning.

The Telegraph reported that one player spoke to Southgate in the immediate aftermath to try to understand the call and help explain it to team-mates. Others were said to have rallied around the 28-year-old.

Jack Grealish Marcus Rashford