Jose Mourinho does not think Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw should be in England's starting XI to begin Euro 2020.
The former United boss has been involved in media controversies around both players in the past.
Mourinho feels Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell is a better option than Shaw at left-back for England, who open their campaign against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday in a World Cup semi-final rematch.
That is despite Shaw having a fantastic season for United, which saw him recently named the Players' Player of the Year at the club.
"I wouldn't think twice, I'd go with Chilwell," Mourinho told talkSPORT.
"I know that he plays normally with Chelsea in a five, but he is intelligent, he covers the space and the diagonals inside very well, he's dangerous in attack, he's good in the air and good on set pieces.
"He can defend well the possible long build up from Croatia on the first phase. He is very calm under pressure. I like Chilwell a lot.
"[Shaw] had a good season and clearly an evolution in terms of emotion, professionalism. But Chilwell has something more, especially with the ball, the way he thinks."
The new Roma boss also feels Rashford's only positional option is to play on the left of attack, where he would prefer to line up with Aston Villa star Jack Grealish.
Mourinho believes Grealish is an "untouchable" selection and compared his play to that of Real Madrid great Luis Figo.
United target Jadon Sancho was not in Mourinho's team, which does include Manchester City star Phil Foden and Harry Kane, who thrived under his management at Tottenham.
Rashford scored against Romania in the 1-0 friendly win last week but Mourinho said: "Harry Kane is untouchable, Jack Grealish is untouchable and the best position for Grealish is coming in from the left.
"For me, Marcus Rashford can only play there. When he plays on the right, he is completely lost.
"He is dynamic but on the right totally broken. He is very good on the left attacking spaces. But Grealish, for me, is tremendous.
"What he creates and his personality – 'give me the ball' – he reminds me a little bit of Luis Figo.
"I don't like making comparisons, especially with a Golden Ball winner, but Grealish reminds me of my Figo.
"Figo, I had him in different periods in my career but I had him in his last season as a player at Inter Milan and even in his last season he was like, 'Give me the ball and I will resolve the problems for you'.
"The way Grealish gets the ball and attacks people, gets fouls, gets penalties, he is very powerful, I like him very much.
"So I would say Grealish on the left, Mason Mount as the number 10 and because I like the wingers to come inside, I would play Phil Foden on the right."
One United player who would be in Mourinho's starting team, though, is goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who he would start over Jordan Pickford.
"I am a Henderson fan," said Mourinho. "When I was at United he was a kid, and I tell this story because it shows his nature.
"He came to my office asking for a loan, he went to Shrewsbury, but this kid said to me then, 'When I come back, I want to be number one'.
"We looked at each other because we had [David] de Gea and this kid never played one game, but he has had incredible development.
"The loans were all very successful. The way United organised them I think United did amazing for him and he did amazing for himself.
"He has this arrogance in him, this trust and belief which I think an England goalkeeper needs."
Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips were Mourinho's two central midfielders.
Mourinho, though, would like to see Jude Bellingham play alongside Rice as the tournament progresses, describing the Borussia Dortmund prospect as "perfect" for such a role.
Kyle Walker, Tyrone Mings and John Stones made up the rest of his back four alongisde Chilwell.
England, who are in Group D, also face Scotland on June 18 and the Czech Republic on June 22.
Ben Smith proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite defeat at AFC Wimbledon
Ben Smith insists he is proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite elimination following a 5-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice for the Dons, with Jake Reeves, Josh Neufville and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans also finding the net.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s competition, but the five-goal defeat means they miss out on a home clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
However, Smith was delighted to see his side stick to their style of play against EFL opposition.
“I am proud of the boys, I thought they gave it their all,” he said.
“I can’t say a player didn’t give me everything, they went to the last minute, and we did it in bucket loads.
“I think at times we did show some composure, and we did move the ball well, I just think we came up against a much better and stronger level of opposition than we are used to.
“They pressed the life out of us at times, we just didn’t have the answers in terms of forward passes.
“I would liked to have seen us score a goal, we had a couple of chances and their keeper pulled off a great save in the first half.
“It was just not to be, but I am proud of the players, it is not about tonight it is about the journey.
“You can see from the support at the end there, it was incredible.
“We move forward, it is about the league now, and this club needs to be higher than it is, that is our job, and we will use this as a springboard.”
Johnnie Jackson believes the Tractor Boys will provide a tough test when they travel to south London in the third round.
He said: “They are a top side and they are doing a great job there.
“They are doing some great stuff, and they have a chance of going up to the Premier League this year with what they are doing in the Championship.
“It will be a really tough game, but we know that, but we have been excellent here of late.
“That is five on the bounce now at home, so we feel like we can match teams, especially here.
“It will be the other way round, we will be looking to cause the shock and they will be looking to get the job done.
“The Ramsgate fans were class, they really added to the atmosphere of the game and they will probably be a bit disappointed that they did not see their team score.
“Credit to them, credit to Ben and his team, they have done themselves proud.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep Aaron Ramsdale – but refused to rule out the England goalkeeper leaving Arsenal in January.
Ramsdale lost his position as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper earlier this season following the arrival of David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Since September 3, Ramsdale has made just three appearances – two of which came in the Carabao Cup, with his one Premier League game in that time coming with Raya ineligible against the Bees.
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With his place at Euro 2024 in the balance as he continues to warm the bench at the Emirates Stadium, Ramsdale’s future is seemingly up in the air.
Arteta recently urged Ramsdale to be patient over any decision, saying the situation could look very different in March.
A shoulder injury to England colleague Nick Pope, however, could see Newcastle in the market for another goalkeeper in January.
Asked if he would be open to selling Ramsdale to Newcastle, Arteta replied: “I want Aaron with us.
“I am very happy to have two very, very good goalkeepers and Aaron is staying with us.
“We want to be better, so we want to add to what we already have. That’s the intention that we have.”
But, when pushed on whether he would categorically rule out a January switch for Ramsdale, the Spaniard added: “I won’t do that to any player. Any player.
“I cannot tell you that any Arsenal player is not going to leave in January. Or he is to stay here for the next three years.
“I won’t say that no player is going to go to Newcastle. Or no member of the staff either. I won’t say it. If you say yes or no, I won’t say it.
“I cannot guarantee that nobody is going to be leaving in January. For Newcastle or any other club. So it is a no.”
Ali Al-Hamadi stars as AFC Wimbledon thump Ramsgate to reach FA Cup third round
Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice as AFC Wimbledon beat Ramsgate 5-0 to set up an FA Cup third-round clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and were behind after just eight minutes when Al-Hamadi pounced on a loose pass before feeding Jake Reeves, who rifled a powerful strike into the top-left corner.
The hosts doubled their advantage when Iraq international Al-Hamadi poked home at the far post following a melee in the box, and it was three when Josh Neufville stroked the ball into an empty net in the 43rd minute.
The Isthmian League South East side kept fighting, with their best chance of the half falling to Lee Martin, but his close-range effort flew over the crossbar.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans found the bottom right corner with a driven shot to put the Dons 4-0 up three minutes after half-time.
Al-Hamadi scored his second of the match five minutes later to wrap up a convincing win, intercepting another poor Rams pass before finding the top right corner.
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