Wayne Rooney criticises Gareth Southgate amid Jack Grealish England squad omission

Former Everton and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has criticised Gareth Southgate's handling of the England squad.

Manchester City star Jack Grealish, James Maddison, James Trafford and Curtis Jones were released from the England camp after being informed they wouldn't be travelling to Germany. Southgate chose to keep Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah following his first call-up to the friendly against Iceland.

The 21-year-old was a surprise addition to England's provisional squad for this summer's European Championships and trained with the Three Lions after their 3-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. However, Quansah was one of seven players, including Liverpool teammate Jones, to be omitted from England's squad for the tournament.

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Despite this, Quansah was not selected for Friday's friendly at Wembley and remained on the bench for the entire match as England suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat, just nine days before their Group C opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.

Rooney believes that Southgate's decision not to play Quansah against Iceland was a case of poor management, leading to the defender appearing visibly upset. Discussing the situation on The Overlap, Rooney stated: "That's why I think Gareth should have sent them all home [after telling them they won't be picked].

"He kept Quansah there and I watched him after the game, I was on the side of the pitch doing TV, and I watched every player walk around the pitch after the game. As soon as the final whistle went Quansah goes in.

"Straight away you have a