UR SSIAN EVOLUTION
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 a 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 is also a great believer in youth because the call-ups for Trent Alexander-arnold, 19, and Ruben Loftus-cheek, 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 shooin for the starting line-up and will have to work 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.
Southgate said: “It is a young group 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. 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.”