England manager Gareth Southgate has selected his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Carl Recine / Reuters
England manager Gareth Southgate has selected his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Carl Recine / Reuters
England manager Gareth Southgate has selected his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Carl Recine / Reuters
England manager Gareth Southgate has selected his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Carl Recine / Reuters

Gareth Southgate proves to be England’s courteous radical with 2018 World Cup squad selection


Richard Jolly
  • English
  • Arabic

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope 
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph 
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck

The temptation was always to think of Gareth Southgate as the kind of eminently polite yes-man who could go far in corporate life, but the sort who are over-promoted as the supposed ‘safe pair of hands’.

There is a type: they say the right things in the right way but actually lack the gravitas and capacity for original thought to make them transformative leaders.

Yet Southgate is easily underestimated. A Football Association bureaucrat has actually been England’s courteous radical, a mild-mannered, middle-class meritocrat. He did something predecessors refused to and dropped Wayne Rooney.

His World Cup squad was notable for his refusal to duck a decision. Exit Joe Hart, whose descent from first-choice goalkeeper to outcast was swift but, based on his dismal performances, deserved.

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So, too, was Nick Pope’s selection after a campaign when the Burnley revelation had the second-highest save percentage in the Premier League, and Hart the worst.

Southgate’s key words were: “Do I give the guys who have had a better season a chance?” His answer came in the affirmative; of those who missed out, only James Tarkowski, who has had an outstanding year at Burnley, can consider himself unfortunate on those grounds.

This World Cup squad, unlike some of their predecessors, was not picked on reputation, employment at a major club or history. As only Gary Cahill has won 40 caps and nine players have 10 or fewer, England are an inexperienced group.

Yet as their recent experience of major tournaments is largely negative, that should be no bad thing. Their squad has 449 caps, whereas Fabio Capello’s party in 2010 had 820; England were wretched then.

The notion of merit is reflected in the most and least experienced members of the 23-man party. Cahill had been dropped altogether: Southgate was open-minded enough to recall him after he returned to the Chelsea side.

The uncapped 19-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold is the form horse, rewarded for a remarkable run that will culminate in a Uefa Champions League final appearance. His selection also signals that Kyle Walker will be used as a centre-back, not a wing-back.

The sense of fairness counted against Adam Lallana, a classy player Southgate would have liked but one whose injury problems have limited him to one league start this season. The Liverpool midfielder was widely expected to make the cut, but England have taken too many semi-fit players to previous competitions. Those risks have rarely been justified.

Yet a Lallana-less midfield may represent the main concern. Injury has stripped Southgate of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s dynamism – and of another player who persuaded the manager to change his mind – but the instructive, if unsurprising, omissions were Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey.

The questions over the Arsenal man’s fitness and the Newcastle player’s temperament seemed to count against each. The problem is that it leaves England with a lack of creativity at the base of the midfield, something Southgate has tried to circumvent with a change of shape to 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2. The gameplan will be to spring quick players forward.

Southgate may be a comparative rookie at international management, but he travelled to four tournaments as a player. He is aware of their complications. It is therefore significant that many of the more marginal selections, such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Fabian Delph, are versatile. They afford him more options.

Delph and Young also enabled Southgate to name a solitary specialist left wing-back: Danny Rose, one of the few who has had an undistinguished season, ahead of the unlucky Ryan Bertrand.

Yet Southgate has not merely been going through the motions on his scouting trips. Delph has not played for England since 2015. His choice suggested club performances may count for more than a consistent presence on the international stage: Jake Livermore, a faithful presence in Southgate’s earlier squads, is only on standby.

But selection should not be about loyalty to the long-serving, let alone predictable picks of the rich and famous, regardless of fitness or form. Southgate has turned his back on England’s past to produce a fresher, faster group.

The company man is in different company. They might not get the right results, but at least they are chosen on the right principles.

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Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

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SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES

Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm

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UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope 
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph 
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck