Lingard excellence excites Southgate
GARETH Southgate has long promised to recapture the vibe of the summer of 2018 for England fans this summer.
Yesterday, he extended that to picking World Cup favourites Jesse Lingard and John Stones in a throw-back to the heroics of Russia.
Between them, they have managed just one international since the Nations League finals in Portugal in 2019.
Southgate criticised Stones in particular for his defensive howlers against Holland in the semi-final and with him way down the pecking order at Manchester City, his international future looked in jeopardy.
However, his surprise success in forming a rock-solid partnership with Ruben Dias atCity has thrown him back into the England mix.
But it is Lingard’s resurrection since his loan move toWest Ham in January that has provided the biggest comeback.
Southgate said: “Injuries in attacking areas have opened up an opportunity for Jesse, but I have to say his performances for West Ham have been excellent.
“He’s got four goals in six games.We know he can perform at this level. He’s been a really good member of our squad, both in terms of his general link-up play and he’s scored for England as well. So, there’s no doubting his quality.
“Ideally, you’d be saying, ‘You need to do it for a little bit longer’ but that’s not been the option this time.We’ve lost the likes of Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and one or two others.
“We trust Jesse and think he can play a big part in these three games.”