Gareth Southgate on James Maddison’s England 2022 World Cup squad call-up - ‘He’s earned the right'
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Published 10/11/2022 at 15:12 GMT
Gareth Southgate addressed the media at St George's Park after naming his 26-man squad for the World Cup. James Maddison was one of the stand-out inclusions in the squad following his superb season for Leicester so far, while Newcastle forward Callum Wilson will also board the plane for Qatar. The Three Lions begin their campaign against Iran on November 21.
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Gareth Southgate believes James Maddison has “earned the right” to be named in England’s World Cup squad for Qatar, after revealing his squad on Thursday afternoon.
Maddison was named in the final Three Lions 26-man squad after what has been a fine season for Leicester player, who has scored six goals and claimed four assists across 13 appearances in all competitions.
England begin their World Cup campaign on November 21 against Iran, before taking on the United States and Wales.
"He’s playing really well," Southgate told the assembled media at St George’s Park. "He’s a good player. We’ve always said he’s a good player,”
"At various stages there have been conversations about James. He is playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country.
“I did speak to James because there was a lot of speculation this morning that he wouldn’t be with us. A couple of weeks ago, we decided that he would be with us. We obviously weren’t going tell him then.
“He was delighted and as I said, I had some difficult calls that were emotionally on the other end of the spectrum, so it was nice to give myself a little bit of an enjoyable end to that.”
Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips have both been included in the squad despite their recent injury problems, with Southgate explaining that Walker should complete his recovery from a hamstring issue before the group stage concludes.
"Kalvin played last night so I think with him he’s free of injury. We’re aware that he’s not going to be able to play seven 90 minutes," said Southgate. "That won't be possible. We’re going to have to build his fitness level.
"He’s available, he’s free of injury. We’ve got Declan Rice as a defensive midfielder. Henderson can play there, but we don’t have a lot of cover for that role in the country.
"Kalvin is a super player and we think that’s a risk worth taking with his fitness. We think he can add to the group.
"Kyle Walker a bit different. He’s not back in full training yet, but he will be available before the end of the group stage.
"Reece James wasn’t going to be available - if everything went perfectly - until the latter stages of the tournament. Kyle is a long way ahead of that and is progressing well."
Callum Wilson was also among one of the stand-out inclusions in the squad and will be targeting his first cap in more than three years, since featuring in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria.
Southgate explained that he did not personally deliver the news to Wilson, and said the focus was on informing those unlucky few that had missed out on selection.
"I didn't get a chance to speak to Callum," added. "My priority on these days is the difficult and sad news.
"The nature of those conversations remind you how much it means to a player to go to a World Cup. It's a great day but we've had some disappointment."
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