Old guard ditched as Southgate wields axe
GARETH SOUTHGATE has overseen one of the biggest revolutions in English national football history.
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, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are the only players to have braved Southgate’s cull. He is taking 18 World Cup debutants, although John Stones was on standby for Brazil.
Chelsea defender Cahill, brought in from the cold BY JOHN CROSS after being dropped from the last squad in March, is the only player in the squad to have over 40 caps. Welbeck will go to Russia as England’s top scorer with 15 goals so it is a squad short of experience, caps and goals. It is Southgate’s biggest gamble as the likes of Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney have been ruthlessly cut adrift during his 18 months as permanent manager. Southgate is also a great believer in youth as the callups for Trent AlexanderArnold and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are designed to bring 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 is no longer a shoo-in to start and will have to work hard to oust Jesse Lingard.
The boldness to switch to a back three with Kyle Walker to the right of a three-man defence shows Southgate is ready to experiment like Terry Venables did at Euro 96, the last time England reached the semi-final of a major tournament.
Southgate said: “This is a squad to be excited about. It is a young group but with some really important senior players so 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 but players equally comfortable in possession. I think people can see the style of play we’ve been looking to develop.”