Maddison over the moon after Southgate phone call
England’s James Maddison says he was always hopeful of a recall but is still pinching himself about making the squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Leicester City midfielder won his only cap three years ago but always believed he could get back into the squad, even if he was not involved in any of the qualifiers.
“There were times that I’d been playing well and not been selected but it’s about having the right mindset and staying hungry to try and achieve,” Maddison told a news conference.
“We’ve seen in the past that [England manager] Gareth [Southgate] has brought players back if they are in form and thankfully that was me for this tournament.”
Maddison was in Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers’s office on the day of the squad announcement last week.
“He asked me if I heard anything and I hadn’t at that point. He was just being a good manager and putting a close arm around me if I didn’t get the call, talking about staying motivated and then enjoying the break.
“But when I got back down to the change room I saw I had a missed call from Gareth Southgate. My heart started beating and I called him back and he gave me the good news.”
Now Maddison is relishing the World Cup experience
“Every moment at the minute is almost like a pinch-me moment,” he said.
“It sounds cliched but getting on the plane and then getting off the plane, seeing the reception we’ve got from locals, it’s all a bit surreal. It’s my first major tournament so I’m just trying to take it all in.”
● Uruguay striker Darwin
Nunez says his team are not favourites to win the World Cup but they will put up a valiant fight when the tournament begins in Qatar on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a training session in Abu Dhabi before their tournament opener against South Korea, the Liverpool striker said he was looking forward to his first World Cup with dreams of lifting the trophy.
“We come here and we know that we’re not favourites, but we’re going to fight,” Nunez said. “Four years ago I watched the tournament on TV and now I’m here with all the beasts. This has only just begun.
“The first game is the first objective and South Korea are a strong team, they’re in the World Cup for a reason ... everyone is strong, but so are we. We want to go far, our goal is to win the World Cup.”
● Ghana scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes to secure a convincing 2-0 win over Switzerland in their World Cup warm-up friendly in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Defender Mohammed Salisu broke the deadlock with a looping header from a poorly defended corner as Ghana took a 70th-minute lead. A storming run from Kamaldeen Sulemana four minutes later was blocked by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer but the ball popped up for Antoine Semenyo to fire home from close range. Both countries were using the match to prepare for their opening games at the World Cup.
Ghana take on Portugal in their Group H opener at Doha’s 974 Stadium next Thursday, while the Swiss play the same day against Cameroon in their opening Group G game at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.
● Iran’s winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the focus of the team will be on the competition, not political issues related to the country’s nationwide protests.
Asked whether the players would chant Iran’s national anthem during the world’s biggest football event, Jahanbakhsh said “celebration and chanting the anthem is a personal decision and we are trying not to make a big deal out of it”.
Several Iranian athletes have expressed support for antigovernment demonstrations triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September.
● The upcoming World Cup is expected to spur $1.8bn in bets in the US, a figure that would set a record for the most bet-upon football event in the country.
The American Gaming Association released a report saying it expects 20.5-million American adults to place a bet on the World Cup.
“With more than half of all American adults having access to legal betting options in their home market, legal sports betting will deepen American fan engagement in the mostwatched sporting event in the world,” association senior vicepresident Casey Clark said.