Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/685992
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 JUNE 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Rashford and Sturridge make England Euro 2016 squad STRIKERS Marcus Rashford and Daniel Sturridge made Roy Hodgson's final 23-man England squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday but winger Andros Townsend and midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Fabian Delph were left out. England are taking five forwards to the 24-team tournament in France, which starts on June 10, with Sturridge selected despite doubts over a calf problem. The injury had forced the Liv- erpool striker to miss England's last two friendly matches, includ- ing Friday's win over Australia in Sunderland. The 18-year-old Rashford, who signed a new long-term deal with Manchester United on Monday, became the youngest player to score on his England debut in the 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light. He scored that goal 138 seconds into what was only his 19th pro- fessional match, marking him out as one of the brightest emerging prospects and winning plaudits from Hodgson. "He would not be out of place in anyone's 23," the manager said at the time. Delph pulled out of the squad with an injury last week and Ross Barkley was preferred to Drink- water, a key player in the rise of underdogs Leicester City to Pre- mier League champions this sea- son. Townsend, a natural winger, had been in impressive form towards the end of the season in Newcas- tle United's failed bid to avoid relegation but Hodgson kept faith with Raheem Sterling. Drinkwater, who made his Eng- land debut in March, said on In- stagram he was disappointed not to have made the cut but added that the season had otherwise been "a huge positive". Drinkwater's supporters voiced their disappointment on social media while former England mid- fielder Ray Wilkins said he was surprised by the decision. "I thought he had a really good chance," he told Sky Sports televi- sion. "I think the way England play is slightly different to the way Dan- ny has played at Leicester, but he's been without a shadow of a doubt one of the best English midfield players in the Premier League." England, who face Portugal on Thursday in their last warm-up match before the tournament, are in Group B with Russia, Wales and Slovakia. Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manches- ter City), Fraser Forster (South- ampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley) Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chel- sea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hot- spur), Ryan Bertrand (Southamp- ton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Liv- erpool) Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tot- tenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liv- erpool), Adam Lallana (Liver- pool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man- chester United), Harry Kane (Tot- tenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) Marcus Rashford Lionel Messi misses first day of tax fraud trial THE trial of Lionel Messi on charges of tax evasion opened in Barcelona on Tuesday, but in- jury prevented soccer's five-times World Player of the Year from at- tending. The Barcelona star will be in court on Thursday to testify. Messi and his father, Jorge Hora- cio Messi, are accused by the Span- ish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million) between 2007 and 2009. They could face jail terms of up to 22 months if found guilty. Both have denied the allegations and missed Tuesday's hearing, which lasted over an hour. The 28-year-old player and his father are not obliged to attend the court every day, but they will have to tes- tify on Thursday. "The intention of Mr. Lionel was to attend the plenary hearing, but he has suffered an injury," Messi's lawyer, Javier Sanchez-Vera, said in court. He presented a medical report. The Barcelona forward hurt his back during Argentina's interna- tional friendly against Honduras last Friday. Asked by the judge whether Messi would attend Thursday's hearing, the lawyer said he would. The case centres on the player's image rights and a web of shell companies allegedly used to evade taxes on income from those rights. Tuesday's hearing showed that Spain's tax office made 20 inspec- tions of Messi during its two-year investigation. According to the prosecutors' office, revenue was hidden using shell companies in Uruguay, Be- lize, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Messi and his father paid five million euros to the tax authori- ties as a "corrective" measure after being formally investigated in June 2013. In addition to Messi, Spain's tax office has also begun investigating the finances of high-profile Bar- celona players such as Neymar Jr, Javier Mascherano and Adriano. A resident in Barcelona since 2000, Messi became a Spanish citi- zen in 2005. He is 10th on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's high- est-earning athletes over the past decade, with an income of $350 million. Messi has scored 314 goals in 348 appearances for Barca. His five World Footballer of the Year titles are a record. He has also won eight La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey trophies and four Champions League crowns with Barca. Lionel Messi