- Foxes playmaker gets the nod
- Roma striker misses out
- Faith shown in Man Utd defender
WHAT HAPPENED? The inclusion of James Maddison was perhaps the biggest call made by a man hoping to guide the Three Lions to global glory in Qatar, with the Leicester playmaker brought back in from the international wilderness after previously earning one senior cap in 2019. The 25-year-old has unlocked plenty of potential since then and, after becoming a talismanic presence at the King Power, has done enough to earn a place on the plane to the Middle East.
WHAT THEY SAID: Explaining the decision to select Maddison, Southgate said: “He’s a good player, we’ve always said that. We think he can give us something different to the other attacking players we’ve got. At various stages there have been debates about James, moments where ahead of the Euros I don’t think he was in contention. He’s playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country and he’s a little bit different.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While Maddison was among those to receive a positive call from Southgate, others were left disappointed. Roma striker Tammy Abraham misses out after scoring just four goals all season, with England’s manager saying of big calls in the striker department: “Tammy has had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time. We’re now 10 days [away]. Form could be more important. We don’t really know where the players are until we see them on the training pitch.” Southgate went on to say of keeping faith with Manchester United centre-half Harry Maguire despite seeing the experienced defender come in for criticism: “We don't think the young ones have done quite enough to push the older ones out.”
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GettyWHAT NEXT? England – who reached the last four of the 2018 World Cup and final of Euro 2020 - are set to open their 2022 World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21, before then going on to face the United States and Wales in their other Group B fixtures.