Gareth Southgate has revealed that James Maddison is "delighted" at being included in his 26-man England squad for the World Cup.
The Leicester star was one of the big surprises in the squad, with the Three Lions boss finally naming his group to travel to Qatar on Thursday. Maddison’s only England cap came as a substitute against Montenegro in November 2019 but his form for the Foxes this season has earned him a recall.
Southgate said he had decided two weeks ago that Maddison - who has six goals and four assists in 12 Premier League games this season - would be in the squad. “He’s playing really well, he’s a good player, he’s earned the right,” the England manager said. “We think he can give us something slightly different to the other attacking players we’ve got.
“I think at various stages there have been conversations, debates about James – there’s been moments where ahead of the Euros I don’t think he was in contention and (in) September was probably a fair debate, but I think he’s playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country.”
The boss also lifted the lid on the moment he told the star the good news on the phone. Southgate added: "He was delighted. I had some very difficult calls, emotional that were the other end of the spectrum.
"So it was nice to give myself a different end to that. All of the really enjoyable ones were a reminder of what it means to the players."
Southgate has largely stuck with the tried and tested, with the most eye-catching selections being Leicester attacking midfielder Maddison and Newcastle striker Callum Wilson. Asked if his squad contained everything necessary to win a World Cup, Southgate said: “We’ve wanted to make sure the balance of the squad is right.
“I think the squad is more important than ever. With five substitutes you can have almost half the team changed during the game so you want different options for different moments of matches and stages at the tournament as well.
“We’ve had to cover a couple of players that aren’t yet fully fit, so having 26 available meant we were probably able to take a couple of risks that you might not have been able to with 23, but we think the balance is there and we’ve got cover in the positions we need. We’re lighter on depth in some positions than others but we think we’ve got everything covered.”
Full England squad for Qatar World Cup
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford ( Everton ), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale ( Arsenal )
Defenders: Harry Maguire (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Kyle Walker (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Trent Alexander-Arnold ( Liverpool ), Eric Dier ( Tottenham ), Conor Coady (Everton), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Declan Rice ( West Ham ), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount ( Chelsea ), Kalvin Phillips (Man City), James Maddison ( Leicester ), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)
Attackers: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Phil Foden (Man City), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jack Grealish (Man City), Callum Wilson (Newcastle)
*FREE England wall chart in this weekend's Sunday Mirror and People.
