ALL BETS ARE OFF

Southgate warning as Maddison is caught in casino

Leicester midfielder Maddison was pictured gambling while England were losing to the Czech Republic on Friday night. The 22-year-old had withdrawn from Southgate’s squad on Thursday due to illness.

Southgate, whose side face Bulgaria tonight, revealed Maddison had contacted him about the incident on Saturday night but did not confirm whether the player had apologised to him.

The England boss said: ‘I know pretty much everything about all of my players, I watch every minute of GARETH SOUTHGATE has warned England’s players that there is no hiding place after James Maddison was caught in a casino just hours after withdrawing from the squad.

their football, whether live or downloaded. I speak to their club managers, I speak with the Under 21 manager aidy Boothroyd and all the coaches of the junior teams. We never know absolutely everything, but we have a very clear picture of every player, and that’s the due diligence that we should always do.’

southgate will hold talks with Maddison after tonight’s euro 2020 qualifier in sofia — when he will emphasise the responsibilities that come with being an england international. ‘In this instance, I’m sure he recognises now that when you’re involved with england, there is a different sort of spotlight on you,’ said southgate. ‘For any young player coming into the squad, they probably aren’t as aware of that.’

england look to respond tonight after their shock 2-1 loss in Prague and southgate said: ‘We must bounce back from it and we have to show that we have resilience. Defeats tell you a lot about people and how they respond.’

Meanwhile, southgate is likely to hand Tyrone Mings a shock debut tonight as he rings the changes.