England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate has praised Marcus Rashford’s mentality ahead of his debut against Norway on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old was part of England’s senior squad at Euro 2016 but has never been picked for the Under-21s before.

Sam Allardyce left him out of England’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

Southgate said: “You would think he had been with us for a longer period of time. That is testimony to the mentality he has arrived here with.”

There has been a debate about whether Allardyce was correct in his treatment of Rashford, who scored his first goal of the season with a last-minute winner at Hull on 28 August.

Southgate used the example of other England senior internationals who have moved between the senior and Under-21 squads recently to show the progress of young players is not straightforward.

Source: BBC Sport

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