England Team Is Out: Southgate’s Squad Selection Raises Concerns

The first international break is around the corner and Gareth Southgate’s England squad selection came out on Thursday; boy, it didn’t go down well with the fans.

An interrupted Premier League campaign will be hit with its second break after Matchday 7 has concluded. Most of the reports making their rounds have been about the devastating news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, which was the reason for the pause in English football a week back.

The other news taking the headlines has been Gareth Southgate and his choice of players for the National League fixtures coming up against Italy and Germany, respectively. Fans and pundits alike, have questioned some of his inclusions and some of his omissions.

The only player who fans are happy to finally see make his debut call-up is Brentford’s, Ivan Toney. His scintillating form has deservingly seen him make the cut with the wait now to see if he starts one of the two international fixtures.

Another player, who thanks to a flying start to life under his new boss, has earned a recall. Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur is back in the Three Lions manager’s plans, and also, deservingly so.

Gareth Southgate’s England Squad

"Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest, loan from Manchester United), Nick Pope (Newcastle United), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal);Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Everton, loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City);Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton);Forwards: Tammy Abraham (AS Roma), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Ivan Toney (Brentford)(via: englandfootball.com)"

The England Players in Discussion

Since the Premier League kicked off, there have been some noteworthy individual performances and some players who struggled last season have started the campaign in good fashion. One such player is Jadon Sancho of Manchester United, another player is Arsenal’s Ben White, and last but not least, James Maddison, from Leicester City.

Jack Harrison of Leeds United and Marcus Rashford are another two names many believe should be involved in the coming weeks with the World Cup around the corner. This is the last set of fixtures and then it’s the big stage in Qatar.

Instead of picking the above in-form players, Southgate has opted to go with outfielders who are either out of form or have been dropped by their manager at their respective clubs. These players have been singled out by the pundits and the fans, they are Harry Maguire, Conor Coady, and Jarrod Bowen.

Below are some stats of some of the players brought into the discussion by the fans and pundits, just to give a small idea of how different some of their respective forms has been.

Attackers:
Jarrod Bowen vs. Jadon Sancho (Across All Competitions)

Jardon with West Ham:

• Games Played – 8
• Minutes Played – 606
• Goals Scored – 1
• Assists – 0
• Wins – 3
• Draws – 1
• Losses – 4

Jadon Sancho:

• Games Played – 8
• Minutes Played – 528
• Goals Scored – 3
• Assists – 0
• Wins – 5
• Draws – 0
• Losses – 3

Since the beginning of the campaign, Sancho has been more effective and in form for his team, playing a part in their 10 goals scored this season. Bowen, taking nothing away from his brilliant run-out last season, has not returned at the same level for West Ham.

Defenders:
Conor Coady vs. Harry Maguire vs. Ben White

Conor Coady for Everton:

• Games Played – 5
• Minutes Played – 440
• Assists – 1
• Clean Sheets – 1
• Goals Conceded – 5
• Wins – 0
• Draws – 4
• Losses –  1

Harry Maguire for Manchester United:

• Games Played – 5
• Minutes Played – 102
• Clean Sheets – 0
• Goals Conceded – 8
• Wins – 2 (He only featured for 11 minutes in the Arsenal game and 1 minute in the Europa League win over Sherrif)
• Draws – 0
• Losses – 3

Ben White for Arsenal:

• Games Played – 6
• Minutes Played – 471
• Clean Sheets – 2
• Goals Conceded – 5
• Wins – 5
• Draws – 0
• Losses – 1

It’s clear to see that Ben White has been part of a move successful unit, however, the Englishman has deputised at right back for Mikel Arteta this season and has done exceptionally well, keeping others out of the starting lineup.

Yes, there is no need for another right-back or full-back with England rich in quality in this specific department. But a player displaying Ben’s form and versatility will always be needed and it’s a quality surely welcomed by many managers.

Conor Coady had to make a switch between Premier League clubs when he left Wolves after seven seasons with them and joined Everton on loan. He had to move to another club to guarantee himself regular minutes on the pitch.

Harry Maguire’s story to date has been no secret and honestly, the biggest talk of Manchester town. After United’s worst start to a Premier League campaign since its inception, he was dropped by the boss, Erik ten Hag, and has since only started one game, which was also a loss for the Red Devils. They are yet to win with Maguire starting.

James Maddison, in a weak and depleted Leicester City team that is sitting rock bottom in the Premier League standings, has been the only bright light. He has always been a massive outlet for goals, whether it be scoring them or assisting another player. He is a major asset on the top end of the pitch.

If we compare him to Jack Grealish, he certainly has been the better of the two Englishmen to date and over the first few fixtures. Southgate hasn’t also favoured Grealish in the past, so not sure what the method was behind his team selection this time around.

Reactions and Comments on the Latest England Squad

"England Players statically better than Harry Maguire this season:Ben White Joe Gomez Ben Mee Dan Burn Max Kilman Tarkowski Lloyd Kelly Nat Phillips Tyrone Mings Calum Chambers Tosin Adarabioyo Lewis Dunk Steve Cook Joe Worrall Ben Godfrey Remember, Gareth Southgate picks formvia: @AntonioMango4"

"Jack Harrison has yet again not been called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad, despite having the highest number of assists for an English player in 2022. When will Southgate learn to think outside the box when it comes to selecting players?(via: @LeedsRadar)"

"People still getting outraged by Gareth Southgate squad selections in 2022. Rest, they didn’t make sense 4 years ago and they won’t make sense nowvia: @LyesBouzidi10"

"Arteta on Ben White:He’s played in both positions [centre-back and right-back], sometimes he’s been selected [England], sometimes not. I think to have versatile players that can play at the level that Ben can in both positions at central defender and fullback.It’s something that any manager wants. Especially when you go to a tournament where a lot of things can happen. That’s Gareth Southgate’s decision and his coaching staff and what I can tell you is whenever Ben gets the call, he will be readyvia: @ArsenalBuzzCom"