Gareth Southgate knows that victory over Albania will see England qualify with a game to spare, Poland’s result in Andorra is irrelevant given England have a better head to head record against them
By Kehinde Okeowo
England manager, Gareth Southgate, has named his squad for the final two World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and San Marino, with the Three Lions hoping to seal qualification to Qatar this month.
England currently top Group I with 20 points, having played 8 games, out of which they won 6, drawn 2 and lost none, they have also scored 24 goals and conceded only 3 in the process.
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Gareth Southgate left out three Manchester United strikers, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood and Jesse Lingard, but recalled their team mates, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford. There were recalls for Roma’s Tammy Abraham, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kalvin Phillips and Reece James too, but Ollie Watkins and Fikayo Tomori missed out.
According to MAILONLINE, The Three Lions know that victory over Albania on November 12 at Wembley Stadium will see them qualify with a game to spare. Poland’s result in Andorra is irrelevant given England have a better head to head record against Robert Lewandowski’s team.
Gareth Southgate while releasing the list of the 25 man squad, explained the rational for leaving out the three Manchester united strikers. According to coach, these players have not been playing regularly for their club.
“With Mason [Greenwood] I discussed the situation last time, with Jesse [Lingard] and Jadon [Sancho] they just aren’t playing a lot of football compared to the other players in their positions.
“I know people will say I’m inconsistent but I don’t think I am. If you’re playing regularly for your club you’ve got a much better chance of us assessing your level compared to the rest of the group.” He said.
With Southgate one year away from naming his World Cup squad for Qatar, there could be first recalls for the likes of Crystal Palace midfielder Connor Gallagher and Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe. The gaffer praised their performances at the club level but opined with the depth of players available, it is important they are not rushed in, as he said:
“I think Emile and Conor Gallagher are playing very well with their clubs but we’ve got depth, and to put those in, we’ve got to leave some of these on the sheet out.
“It’s not a bad thing that we’re starting to get a very strong under-21 team because you want that depth.
“The boys I’ve just mentioned are on a really good path, we like them, we get a good chance to see them with the under-21s, as well as with their clubs, but at the moment we think it’s a little bit early for some of those guys to come in.
“We could put them in and they will be absolutely fine by the way, but we think the players we’ve picked are just a little bit ahead at the moment.”
He was also asked about his contract situation and his future as England manager after the World Cup, for these, the Manager had this so say:
“With the greatest respect, what I discuss with the FA about my contract is nobody’s business but me and the FA’s.
“The only thing I will share is we have to nail our qualification before we sit down and have those conversations in real depth.
“The focus has got to be, to get the points that we need to qualify and get the team to the World Cup. Then there’s plenty of time to talk those things through.”
Southgate was also asked to speak on the prospect of Arsenal keeper, Aaron Ramsdale, becoming England’s number one, and he replied saying:
“Firstly, it’s great for him, this is the third squad he’s been in. He had the summer with us, we were impressed and he’s started very well with Arsenal.
“We’re pleased with how he’s playing, his distribution with his feet is a particular bonus with the way they play at Arsenal.
“There’s a fight on, we’ve got competition for places and we need competition in every position and Aaron [Ramsdale] and Sam [Johnstone] are definitely providing that to Jordan [Pickford].”
Gareth Southgate was then asked how difficult it was for him to come down up with the 25 names he picked. He said it was tough, given the quality of players and completion for places in the team.
“It’s always difficult because we’ve got so much competition for places and we had quite a few players missing last time, which means you bring others in, so you’ve got more decisions to make.
“Also some young players, who are playing well, haven’t quite made the squad. So we’ve kept a reasonable amount of consistency really with the group that was with us in the summer that did so well.
“There are players who are pushing the group really strongly.” Southgate added.
England will be hoping to join Germany, who are the first county to qualify to 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the host country, Qatar, who qualified automatically as the host of the competition.
England’s 25-man squad
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Roma), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)