At international tournaments, there’s invariably a fall guy or two from a national team squad that is stuck on the bench.
From England’s point of view, it’s been a huge surprise to see Manchester United target, Jadon Sancho, play just six minutes for England at Euro 2020.
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The youngster remains one of the most exciting players that the Three Lions have, but Gareth Southgate, for reasons only known to him, has staunchly refused to pick the Borussia Dortmund flyer.
It’s led to a lot of head scratching, not least in Sancho’s adopted country.
“He was one of the best players in the Bundesliga for the last two years,” former legendary German player, Lothar Matthaus, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“If he is not good enough for England, we would like to give him a German passport.
“It has surprised many in Germany.”
Clearly, the suggestion was made in jest, but his continued omission from the starting XI is no laughing matter for Sancho.
Whether some reverse psychology from Southgate is in play, and he was only ever going to play the wide man in the latter stages of the tournament, will be found out soon enough.