Allardyce defends Barkley omission
England manager Sam Allardyce has defended the decision to leave Everton midfielder Ross Barkley out of his first squad for the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia at the weekend.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the Premier League season and many observers felt he had done enough to deserve a place in the 23-man group named on Sunday.
However, Allardyce, who succeeded Roy Hodgson as manager after England’s underwhelming Euro 2016 campaign, said there was still time for Barkley to feature in his future plans.
“We have had to make a few difficult decisions and none more so than Ross Barkley,” Allardyce said.
“For him it’s disappointing, for me, you have to make these decisions. The door will always be open for Ross but right now I feel the squad I’ve picked is the right one.”
Marcus Rashford also missed out, instead selected for the Under-21 squad against Norway, even though the 18-year-old striker featured for England at Euro 2016 and scored Manchester United’s injury-time winner against Hull City on Saturday.
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