Strangely, the headline from this World Cup squad announcement was always likely to be the inclusion or non-inclusion of a player with a grand total of one international cap. James Maddison has become the type of English cause celebre that always seems to emerge on the eve of a major tournament, his unpredictable, mercurial abilities providing a skeleton key to unlock defences in Qatar. Given Gareth Southgate’s supposed safety-first nature, many expected that he would be overlooked. Instead, he will go to the World Cup.
Southgate’s inclusion of Maddison is the biggest surprise in his 26-man selection and appears to belie a reputation for standing by trusted, familiar faces. The Leicester City playmaker was the only fully fit player included in this squad to receive a call from Southgate on the morning of the announcement. The England manager wanted to reassure him that, despite speculation that he would miss out, he was in. “We’d decided a couple of weeks ago but weren’t going to tell him then,” Southgate revealed.
