Manchester United: Jose Mourinho Youngsters Given England Recalls

Marcus Rashford, right, with Jesse Lingard.
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, right, with Jesse Lingard at Etihad Stadium, Manchester, March 20. Rashford and Lingard have both been called up to England's senior squad. Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Interim England manager Gareth Southgate has called Manchester United's teenage striker Marcus Rashford back into the squad for the upcoming FIFA 2016 World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.

Rashford, who burst onto the scene last season under Jose Mourinho's predecessor Louis van Gaal, was originally called up for England's ultimately disastrous UEFA Euro 2016 campaign under Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson resigned following England's 2-1 defeat against Iceland in the round of 16, with Sam Allardyce, ex of Sunderland, appointed in his place. Allardyce lasted 67 days in the role before a mutual parting of the ways with the Football Association (FA) following a Daily Telegraph investigation that caught him offering fake businessmen advice on how to circumvent FA rules on transfer deals.

Stoke City defender Glen Johnson is a surprising re-inclusion in Southgate's squad, having not played for the national side since the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

Rashford's team mate Jesse Lingard, impressive for United in its draw with Stoke City at Old Trafford Sunday, receives his second call-up to an England senior squad. Lingard, who played for Southgate in England's under-21 side, missed out on a debut against France at Wembley in November 2015.

England play Malta at Wembley Saturday, followed by a trip to Ljubljana a week Tuesday.

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