Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has backed the inclusion of Marcus Rashford at next summer's Under-21 European Championships.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has questioned whether Rashford would benefit from the experience after already breaking into the senior setup, but Glenn feels that the forward - and England youngsters in general - need experience of tournament football.
He told Sky Sports News: "I'd say to Jose - for whom we have great respect - that England are in the tournament business and if you compare an England senior player with a German senior player, the Germans have much more tournament experience at different age groups.
"We play tournaments so we definitely need to give our young talent experience of that pressure cooker of a tournament so I think it is entirely appropriate to give Marcus - who is doing perfectly well - international tournament experience."
Rashford has made five appearances for the Three Lions after his call-up to Euro 2016, while he has played once for the Under-21 team.