Why is Jesse Lingard not playing in the Euros? Man United star not involved in England v Scotland game

The Three Lions produced a solid performance on Sunday to win 1-0 in their Group D opener at Wembley, and face old rivals Scotland next on Friday night.

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips produced a man of the match performance as he justified his inclusion in the squad ahead of the likes of Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse.

Lingard had been one of the stars of England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, but has since struggled for form at Man United, which saw him barely start a Premier League game in a year.

A move to West Ham rejuvinated his career and saw him make a late run for Euros inclusion, but it wasn’t to be as Southgate decided to leave him out of his plans.

Why isn’t Jesse Lingard in the England squad?

Lingard had a very good second half the season after joining West Ham United on loan in January.

He scored nine goals in 16 games and won the Premier League Player of the Month and Premier League Goal of the Month in April after a great strike against Wolves.

His form ensured he forced his way back into the England reckoning, having not appeared for the Three Lions since June 2019.

Southgate picked him for the World Cup qualifiers in March against San Marino, Albania and Poland, and then included him in his provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2020.

However, he was axed from the final 26-man squad with Southgate opting to select Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham as his attacking midfielders alongside Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Phillips.

How many England caps has Jesse Lingard won?

Lingard stayed with the England squad for their Euro 2020 warm-up games against Austria and Romania despite being dropped from the tournament squad.

With England resting a number of players who reported late after their Champions League Final exertions, Lingard started against Austria and came off the bench against Romania.

That means he now has 29 caps, and has scored four goals.

What has Gareth Southgate said about Jesse Lingard

"Jesse has done incredibly well to get back in the race. Going back to January, he was a million miles from being selectable for an England squad," he said.

"I said in March that he had a fabulous few weeks, but you'd have to say he was a little fortunate because we were without four wide players at that time.

"He had a good spell with West Ham and is a player that has played so well for England. We have total trust in the way he plays: he's reliable and a great member of the group."