Gareth Southgate names new call-ups in England squad for upcoming games

Gareth Southgate names new call-ups in the England squad for upcoming World Cup Qualifier games against Albania and San Marino.

The 51 year old had to weigh up some of his players’ lack of form and game time ahead of naming the squad charged with wrapping up the Three Lions’ World Cup qualification.

England remain unbeaten on the road to Qatar but drawing two of their last three Group I matches means they only have a three-point cushion with two games to go.

They are to host Albania at Wembley next Friday before rounding off qualification with a trip to minnows San Marino – the lowest ranked side in world football.

Some bookies have the Three Lions priced at 1-1,000 to top the group, Southgate is unlikely to gamble too much when he announced his squad on Thursday afternoon at 2pm.

He hasn’t swayed dramatically away from the group he relied on during the run to the Euro 2020 final, although returning players may give him some selection headaches.

Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips missed last month’s internationals through injury but are back in contention to get the much needed wins.

Marcus Rashford, whose last England cap came in the Euro 2020 final, is also back playing again after shoulder surgery and has shone brighter than some of his Manchester United team-mates.

Jadon Sancho has yet to find form since his big-money summer move to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund, while Jesse Lingard’s rejuvenation has left him feeling like he should probably be back at West Ham.

United team-mates Maguire and Luke Shaw are also in poor form, while fellow Euro 2020 stars John Stones and Raheem Sterling continue to struggle for game time at Manchester City.

Stones has made as many international appearances as club ones this season, while Sterling has only started three of City’s opening 10 Premier League games.

Southgate’s decision on young talents Jude Bellingham and Mason Greenwood is surely worth another look after he overlooked them last month with their long-term development in mind.

There are some exciting footballers that have been with the England Under-21s, who face an important qualifier against Czech Republic before ending 2021 with a friendly in Georgia.

Among the most names that have been in Lee Carsley’s squad are Conor Gallagher, who is impressing on loan at Crystal Palace, and rising Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe.

Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White joined the 21-year-old at the Emirates Stadium in the summer and are hoping to be selected. The latter however hasn’t been involved since the European Championship.

Strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Patrick Bamford remain out, but Southgate has relatively few injury issues to contend with compared to last time out.

ENGLAND SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT:

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse

Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling

Fans reacted as Gareth Southgate names new call-ups in England squad for upcoming games…

@CFCDaily: Can’t wait for Southgate to play Mount deep again and have people question why he’s no good in the final third 🤩🤩🤩

@MarcusUTD_: Greenwood, ESR and Gallagher robbed

@woodburygooner: Absolute joke @GarethSouthgate – you won’t get a better game than San Marino to give new faces a go. And how Mings and Maguire are in over White is beyond me, pure favouritism.

@DaneWWFC: Where the fuck is kilman Southgate?

@HarvellNeil: Joke squad. Kane can’t score, Maguire and Shaw have been leaking goals for fun, and Ward Prowse ahead of ESR. Nevermind Phillips who is in an awful Leeds side right now. No reason to play well under Southgate he has his favourites and never rewards form. Nevermind Kane at present

@PremLeaguePanel: Conor Gallagher. Fikayo Tomori. Ben White.

@SuperGaryCahill: Claims to pick on form yet Maguire, Shaw, Mings, Stones and Sterling are there. Where is Dunk? Gallagher? Bowen? Chalobah? Tomori? ESR?

@jxcey01: WHITE AND ESR ROBBED

@TheKopHQ: Harry Maguire & Tyrone Mings. Absolutely dreadful all season, yet still make the England squad 😂😂

@JckGunn: Mings has Southgates nudes

@FPL_NP: White and Tomori > Mings and Coady

@JoPSmith25: No Jarrod Bowen. What’s the point in playing well at club level if it means nothing ?

@afcjeedz: No way Mings still makes these squads in November 2021😭

@deanocx: Think Smith-Rowe and Gallagher did enough to earn a call-up

@CFC_Raf: Tomori should’ve been given a spot over mings.

@willreyner: How can you say Mings/Coady are better than White/Tomori/Chalobah

@bomstickle:
“I will pick players on form”.
* Kane remains
* No place for Bowen, Smith Rowe or Gallagher 🖕🏼🖕🏼

@AFCAmira: Think we can all agree that on current form, Maguire should not be anywhere near this team

No Jarrod Bowen pic.twitter.com/i7Jb8G5APs

— Ibby (@1bbyWHU) November 4, 2021

Various coaches have spoken about Gareth Southgate and how he’s come in and transformed the team to what it is today.

Steve Holland, who has been Southgate’s assistant manager since they first worked together with the England Unders-21s in 201, said: “There was a real disconnect between the fans and the team. I’m not suggesting that anyone was directly responsible for that; I think it was something that had just evolved over a period of time.

“That was part of the challenge, and I think it’s something that Gareth has handled magnificently. The guys do want to come, they do want to play for England, they do want to give the English people a team they can be proud of. I think those messages have slowly started to get through now, and I think it certainly felt that way in Russia.

“On top of that, we evolved our way of playing from qualification for the finals. We didn’t like the 4-2-3-1 formation we had used in qualifiying. The team was solid and we always had a threat, but the football was stodgy – and neither of us had ever really wanted to play that kind of football, either as players or coaches.

“We decided that playing with a back three would give us a better chance not only of keeping clean sheets, but also playing a more effective game with the players we had.

“We were trying to find ways of getting our most talented players on the pitch in a way that gave them their best chance of showing their obvious qualities, while also keeping us stable without the ball.

“It was fundamental to us that we weren’t asking players to do anything too different to what they were doing at their clubs. Against Iceland at the 2016 Euros, it had looked like, under the pressure, the players had fallen apart a little bit. None of them had played even close to their real level. We felt that we needed to create a situation where, under pressure, the players would fall back on strong habits they had developed in training at both their clubs and with England. We wanted round pegs in round holes.”

Jason Euell, who was among Southgate’s first signings at Middlesbrough in 2006, and has been a coach with England since 2019, said: “He probably learned a lot from his time managing at Middlesbrough – but it’s part of the journey that has made him successful.

“Gareth’s very honest in his approach and his communication. If you’re not playing, he’ll come and tell you why. He won’t hide it. You can see with the national team now that communication is one of his strengths.

“It’s partly how you earn that respect – both with the results you get, but also the understanding, knowledge and relationship-building.

“When you see yourself as a coach or manager, you are so many different personalities – and since I’ve been involved in the England set-up, I can see how he’s changed.

“You’re like a father, a big brother, a role model, a mentor, a coach – you’re dealing with the media – and Gareth’s probably grown in all of those.

“You have to chop yourself up into different people – change your stripes – because you’re dealing with different players at different stages of their careers, who are sometimes playing at different levels. That’s the transition – playing to coaching.”

And, Dan Ashworth, who worked alongside Southgate while technical director at the FA from 2016-2018, stated: “I worked very closely with Gareth Southgate in the lead-up to the World Cup.

We had a great backroom team. Ultimately, decisions lay with Gareth and Steve Holland, his assistant, but I played a proactive role in helping out wherever I could. I tried to provide any information I thought could help Gareth and Steve do the best job possible with the senior team.

“Another target that was discussed when forging the England DNA was to unite the game and inspire the nation. International football had been the source of plenty of frustration for the fans over the years, but I think it’s safe to say we succeeded with what we did in Russia.

“We didn’t get to experience the euphoria back in England, but we saw videos and spoke to people back home. It was clear everyone was inspired by what we achieved.

“It’s still a bit of a regret that we didn’t get over the line, especially after going 1-0 up against Croatia in the semi final. But it was a real privilege to be a part of it, and something I’m very proud of.”