English manager Gareth Southgate’s 26-man team for the 2022 World Cup was always going to spark debate and he explained some of his decisions.
What did Southgate say about Maddison?
The inclusion of attacking midfielder James Maddison was perhaps the biggest call made by a man looking to propel the Three Lions to global glory in Qatar, with Leicester’s playmaker brought back from the international wilderness after previously earning one senior cap in 2019. Since then, James Maddison has shown great potential and, after becoming a mascot presence with the King Power, has done enough to earn a seat on a plane to the Middle East.
Speaking of the decision to select James, the English manager said that Maddison is a good player, as they always said. According to Gareth Southgate, they think he can give them something different from the other offensive players they have. There have been debates about Maddison at various stages, moments when ahead of the Euro Southgate doesn’t think he was in contention. The Englishman says that James Maddison plays just like any of the attacking players in this country and he is a little different.
A little about the topic
While James was among those who received a positive call from Gareth, others were disappointed. Giallorossi striker Tammy Abraham conceded after scoring just four goals all season, and Gareth Southgate said of the big challenge in the forward department that Abraham had poor form at the wrong time. Now they are 10 days apart. The form may be more important.
Southgate says they don’t know where the players are until they see them on the training ground. The England manager went on to talk about maintaining faith in Red Devils center Harry Maguire despite the seasoned defender coming in for criticism that they didn’t think the younger ones had done enough to push the older ones out.