For the past 24 hours social media has been awash with fury at England manager Gareth Southgate as misplaced rumours of his 26-man squad spilled onto the internet. How dare he not pick the in-form James Maddison? How can he not pick Arsenal’s Ben White? Why is he considering Joe Gomez? If you'd have believed Twitter this morning, Benson and Hedges were on the verge of inclusion and it led to one narrative...
“SOUTHGATE HAS TO GO!”
Turns out it was a whole lot of furore over nothing. Leicester City’s main man Maddison has found his way into the squad for his very first major tournament, despite the fact that he has just one international cap to his name. Joining him is Callum Wilson, who has six goals in ten Premier League games this season and has been picked ahead of both Ivan Toney and Tammy Abraham.
For a manager that has claimed he will always pick players on form, he has stuck to his word. Maddison in truth is the left-field choice despite his purple patch - given his lack of experience and snubs from even the most recent squads - but Southgate knew two weeks ago that he would be included.
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- England World Cup squad in full
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White, who has played so well for Arsenal this term, is also included while Tammy Abraham, who has only scored three times for Roma this term, has lost his place. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford, back in form at Manchester United, is also on the plane. The narrative has been turning against the England manager since the Three Lions lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties, but there aren’t any real complaints about this squad - even from his fiercest critics.
Fikayo Tomori could have been included after his Serie A success last term, but he hasn’t been great this term and was exposed against Chelsea in the Champions League. And for all the desperation to pick in-form players, Southgate has to provide some level of consistency between this squad and the one that reached the final of Euro 2020.
Harry Maguire has been a standout player for England over the last two tournaments and is the nation’s most senior defender, even if he has fallen out of favour at Manchester United. Along with Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, there is some previous World Cup experience in this squad - while the continuation of success from Euro 2020 is vital.
Only five of this squad didn’t play at that tournament. It’s why Kalvin Phillps is included, as well as the fact that the Three Lions lack depth in defensive midfield. It’s one area of concern for England, with Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham almost guaranteed to start but there's little in the room for back-up behind that pairing.
Another issue where England potentially look short is at left-back. Luke Shaw is the number one choice but, after the injury to Ben Chilwell, the manager has decided against including another natural option, with Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka able to cover if needed. For Southgate, who is usually described as being ultra-safe, this is also a risk averse attacking move.
England fans, especially at this current moment, love to beat Southgate with any stick they can find. But with this squad, he has got all the big calls spot on. Even those slight debates, between Toney and Wilson and the inclusion of Tomori, are around players that are unlikely to get any gametime anyway. It’s probably not a squad that can win the World Cup, but it is one that can excite the nation as they head to Qatar.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
