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Soccer-Greenwood asked not to be selected for England until 2022: Southgate
Published by maria gbaf
Posted on November 5, 2021
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
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Published by maria gbaf
Posted on November 5, 2021
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Mason Greenwood requested not to be selected for England until 2022 to focus on Manchester United, according to Gareth Southgate.
(Reuters) – England manager Gareth Southgate said Mason Greenwood asked not to be picked for World Cup qualifiers in the first half of the season as he wanted to focus on establishing himself at Manchester United.
Greenwood made his England debut in September last year against Iceland before he was sent home along with Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden for breaching COVID-19 protocols.
Greenwood has not played for England since.
The 20-year-old forward, who missed the European Championship due to injury, has scored four times for United this season and questions were asked over his absence from upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino.
“We had a discussion before the camp in September and we came to an agreement. (FA technical director) John McDermott and myself went to United and had a good chat with Mason and his family,” Southgate told reporters.
“We agreed we would park this until next year, basically. We would leave the autumn games. If he establishes himself in Manchester United’s team, then he is going to be very close to an England squad or an England team, so he recognises that.
“He wants to play for England, he’s clear about that. We are not not picking Mason because we don’t think he’s good enough or we’re not happy with what he requested.
“We are totally understanding of that and we are happy to wait.”
England are top of Group I, three points ahead of Poland, with two games to go.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
The main topic is Mason Greenwood's decision to focus on Manchester United and not be selected for England until 2022.
Greenwood requested not to be selected to focus on establishing himself at Manchester United.
Southgate agreed with Greenwood's decision and is happy to wait until next year.
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