SOUTHGATE EXCITED BY HIS WORLD CUP SQUAD
ENGLAND CHIEF GOES FOR PROMISE RATHER THAN EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA THIS SUMMER
Gareth Southgate believes this is an England squad to be “excited about” after plumping for promise rather than experience with a bold World Cup selection.
Uncapped Trent Alexander-Arnold was celebrating a maiden senior call-up as experienced Adam Lallana, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere reeled from the disappointment of missing out.
After months of speculation and conjecture, the 23 men charged with bringing England success in Russia were revealed, along with the five-strong stand-by list.
England’s joint secondmost capped goalkeeper, Hart, was excluded, as was Arsenal midfielder Wilshere and Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand – but Lallana is on stand-by.
“I believe this is a squad which we can be excited about,” England manager Southgate said. “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.
“The first call-up for Trent Alexander-Arnold is well deserved. When we pick young players, it’s not just because they are young, it’s because their performances deserve it. We’ve also had a couple of injuries with Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, which is a huge blow for them and disappointing for us.”
Southgate has made 12 changes to the squad that floundered at Euro 2016, underlining his desire to build a group capable of providing long-term success.
Southgate spoke about the “really tough” decision to leave out Hart and Bertrand, with the latter overlooked as Ashley Young and Danny Rose got the nod at left-back.
Fabian Delph is a versatile option, like Young, and is included despite last representing his country in 2015.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in the squad after impressing on loan at Crystal Palace, while uncapped Nick Pope was selected for the third keeper spot behind Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland.
England have warm-ups against Nigeria at Wembley on June 2 and Costa Rica in Leeds on June 7, with the Group G opener against Tunisia on June 18.