England manager Gareth Southgate defended his 23-man squad at Wembley stating they have to “be brave” when they travel to the World Cup this summer to avoid past failures.
Southgate said: “I don’t see it as a gamble and I don’t think being free of inhibition is gambling, it is being fearless of how we want to play, being brave.”
Former senior squad members Jack Wilshere and Joe Hart were notable omissions from the squad that was published on Wednesday, while young Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was included for the first time.
Southgate spoke at length about his decisions to leave out on-loan West Ham stopper Joe Hart. “It’s a difficult call, he’s played in most of our qualifying matches. He took the news very professionally, of course he is very disappointed.”. Southgate refused to close the door on a possible return in the future for Hart. “If he’s playing well for his club, why wouldn’t we select him?”
Arsenal midfielder Wilshere was tipped by many to be part of England’s plans for Russia due to his recent upturn in form for Arsenal. Southgate however cited a lack of games for England this season as to why he didn’t get the nod and Fabian Delph was instead picked. “He has of course been in our thoughts, we selected him in March. Of course he hasn’t played a game for us, I was really happy with how the squad performed in November and March and the only midfield player we have added is Fabian Delph who has had a fantastic season with Manchester City.”
One player who will be on the plane however is young Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. England manager Southgate is a big admirer of the 19-year-old “His performances have been outstanding and he’s had a consistent run in a big side, he looks like he’ll be playing in the Champions League final…he’s ticked all the boxes we need.” The England boss will be hoping the youngster makes through the Champions League final unscathed.
Arnold’s teammate Adam Lallana made the reserve list despite being sidelined by injuries for the majority of the season. Southgate said that in “normal circumstances he would be nowhere near the squad or standby list, but he’s a fantastic player and given another ten days, he could have a real impact in the Champions League final, he could come in and do something with us.”
The reserve list is comprised of the lesser experienced Lewis Cook, James Tarkowski, Tom Heaton, Ryan Bertrand and Jake Livermore alongside Adam Lallana. Southgate insisted that the reserve squad is no place for senior members. “I think if you’re a number one and you’re on that list it is a very different challenge” said Southgate.
With the u17’s and u20’s winning there respective World Cup last year, many fans have been calling for a more youthful approach to the squad that travels to Russia. Fans however will have to wait until after the competition to see some of the younger players in action.
“Well again, we know all these young players – the likes of Sessegnon, Sancho or Foden. The hurdle to overcome and be in that position, someone like Trent or Loftus-Cheek, they are playing regular Premier League football and have gone through a lot of steps to get there. I don’t think we would be helping their development to bring them up this early, and I don’t think they are better than the players we’ve got.”
The Three Lions captain is still yet to be announced and giving everyone in the squad a voice is a hallmark of this new England regime. “I think we have been through a process of developing leaders in the group, trying to get more voices from within the team in meetings and not just feel that the captain is the only one to make decisions. When we get the players together we’ll talk about it more, but for me it is more important to have more leaders.”
Before jetting off too Russia, England host Nigeria at Wembley on the 2nd of June. They then travel to Elland Road for a friendly against Costa Rica five days later which will be the final chance the Three Lions get to prepare before they start their World Cup campaign.
