GARETH HAPPY TO ROLL THE DICE WITH JAMES
JAMES MADDISON must have feared he had gambled away his chances of a World Cup place after three years of being ignored by England.
The Leicester magician’s unwise casino visit after pulling out of the squad to face the Czech Republic in a Euro 2020 qualifier through illness appeared to have marked his card.
It was an unfortunate look even if Gareth Southgate did give him his one cap off the bench against Montenegro a few days later. Whatever his form with Leicester, Maddison seemed to be destined to remain an outsider with his nose pressed against the Qatar glass. Tournament football
– especially tournament football with bloated
26-man squads – needs good tourists who, if they end up being fringe operatives, will not destabilise the mission. But Southgate, above, insisted yesterday he has no qualms about taking Maddison – and not just because there will not be any casinos or much else in the way of temptation to lead him astray in Doha. Southgate said: “I was with him in an under-21s tournament and he is a bit of a football student, James.
“There are some misconceptions, perhaps, about him. “My experiences with him when he was in the under-21s and, when he was with us, were that he wanted to talk about the game, he wanted to talk about what was expected.
“I’ve always said it was football reasons for not selecting him and, in the main the capabilities of others in the group and that’s the case. I’ve got no concerns about how he will be with the group. He knows most of the lads, he has been in the junior teams with a lot of them, so that isn’t a concern at all.” If privately there were reliability issues involved in the long period of isolation, Southgate will hope that fatherhood – to 15-month-old son Leo – has served to mature Maddison further.
With five substitutions available at the World Cup, the logical thought is that Maddison will be a bench option, a player capable of breaking open a game against opponents such as Iran, who like to sit deep in defence.
Southgate made a point yesterday of stressing how he always looks to pass forward, unlike too many other players.
He has brought the house down this season despite operating in a struggling Leicester side.
“There have been some moments where he has been close and we have probably decided that [Phil] Foden and [Mason] Mount in those sorts of areas were stronger. We think he is right in the mix now. He is playing well,” said Southgate.
“I’ve always said the door is open and that is how it has been. We have selected on what we have seen.”
Call it Southgate’s own gamble if you like.