LALLANAARGH!
Liverpool star Adam is left devastated by Russia snub as Southgate puts faith in kids
ADAM LALLANA has been left devastated by his World Cup snub.
England boss Gareth Southgate (with the Liverpool star, left) made the call to stress his omission was down to concerns over his fitness rather than his ability. But Lallana, 30, the victim of a season ravaged by injury at Anfield, had still pinned his hopes on going to Russia next month in the 23-man squad. The news is a desperate blow for playmaker Lallana, who would be an automatic starter for Southgate in normal circumstances. But Lallana’s 19-year-old team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold got the nod in a youthful squad. The Liverpool
GARETH SOUTHGATE has overseen one of the biggest revolutions in English football history.
Incredibly, there are just five survivors from the last World Cup squad four years ago to make the cut for Russia this summer. Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck are the only players to have been spared Southgate’s brutal cull. Or, put another way, that means Southgate is taking 18 World Cup debutants, although John Stones was on standby for Brazil. Chelsea defender Cahill, brought in from the cold after being dropped from the last squad in March, is also the only player in the squad to have over 40 caps. Welbeck will go to Russia as England’s top scorer with 15 goals and it means it is a squad short of experience.
It is without doubt Southgate’s biggest gamble and one of the boldest squads anyone can remember, as the likes of Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney have been ruthlessly cut adrift during his 18 months as permanent manager.
Southgate (left) is also a great believer in youth because the call-ups for Trent AlexanderArnold, 19, and Ruben LoftusCheek, 22, are designed to bring in the enthusiasm that has carried the younger England teams to success.
Fabian Delph has been rewarded for his form with Manchester City, while Dele Alli knows he is no longer a shoo-in for the starting line-up and will have to work hard to oust Jesse Lingard.
The boldness to switch to a back three together with moving Kyle Walker to the right of the three-man defence shows Southgate is also ready to experiment in the way Terry Venables did at Euro 96, the last time England reached the semifinal of a major tournament.
The Three Lions boss pointed to youth as a key element of his squad, but also insisted the style of play has been key to the players who he has picked.
He said: “I believe this is a squad which we can be excited about. It is a young group, but with some really important senior players. So I feel the balance of the squad is good, both in terms of its experience, its character, and also the positional balance.
“We have a lot of energy and athleticism in the team, but players that are equally comfortable in possession of the ball, and I think people can see the style of play we’ve been looking to develop.
“The selection process has been
over months really, it’s not just been the last few weeks. We feel the team are improving and we want to continue that momentum.”
Southgate insists that Alexander-Arnold has earned his call-up with his performances for Liverpool in the Champions League campaign, while Danny Rose edged out Ryan Bertrand.
But the manager also claimed he did his U-turn on Hart – having said he would be in the squad in March – because the other three keepers had earned their places with their form this season.
Southgate added: “The first call up for Trent Alexander-Arnold is well deserved. When we pick young players, it’s not because they are young, it’s because their performances deserve it.
“We’ve had a couple of injuries with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, which is a blow for them and disappointing for us. Ryan and Joe Hart have played a lot over the last two years, so they’re not decisions we took lightly. I could’ve had easier conversations by keeping them involved. “With Joe, we’ve got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons. The decision I was faced with was, ‘Do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group? Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance?’ We felt the players all needed to be in on merit. “Ryan is also very unfortunate in that it’s probably one of the strongest positions we have. I just felt the others were ahead of him. “Both calls were really tough. They’re both good guys and have contributed a lot in qualification, so it wasn’t an enjoyable part of the job. I feel it’s important to acknowledge their contribution in getting us to Russia.”