Marcus Rashford dropped from England squad and no place for Jadon Sancho

Marcus Rashford has been dropped from England’s squad for this month’s friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast as a consequence of his poor form for Manchester United.

Gareth Southgate has also left out Rashford’s clubmate Jadon Sancho but has given a first call-up to the Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi and found spaces for the Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher and Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe for the matches at Wembley on 26 and 29 March.

Rashford has started three of United’s past 12 Premier League matches and was a substitute in the team’s most recent game, at home to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, on Tuesday. He is considering asking to leave his boyhood club this summer.

Kyle Walker has not made the squad but the goalkeeper Nick Pope is back at expense of Sam Johnstone and Arsenal’s Ben White has been included. Southgate said Walker would return in June, with the Manchester City defender left out to give younger full-backs a chance.

Southgate emphasised that Rashford had ample opportunity to get back into his thoughts for the World Cup in Qatar. “It’s a difficult time for him,” he said. “He’s clearly not at his best but there’s plenty of time. We know a lot about Marcus anyway – we know what he can bring to us – and hopefully he can rediscover that form we know he is capable of.”

The manager explained that Sancho, despite a recent upturn in form, had also not done enough to get in ahead of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Smith Rowe.

Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolves), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United),