Leicester City James Maddison is the surprise inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the upcoming World Cup.
Maddison has six goals and four assists in 12 Premier League appearances this season but has been repeatedly overlooked by Southgate. That has changed with the attacker making it in for the final squad.
The other big surprise is the inclusion of Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, who has been performing well under new manager Graham Potter.
Elsewhere Marcus Rashford’s good form for Manchester United sees him get in at the expense of team-mate Jadon Sancho. Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson gets in as Harry Kane’s back-up with Tammy Abraham missing out.
Another player based in Italy, Fikayo Tomori, is also left out. Southgate has gone with Kyle Walker, who has made a remarkable recovery from a groin injury, and Ben White as the hybrid right-back/centre-back options with Reece James ruled out earlier in the week.
Walker’s team-mate Kalvin Phillips is another who is included after a quick recovery whilst Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in with James out through injury.
Joe Gomez, Jarod Bowen, Ivan Toney, Marc Guehi and James Ward-Prows are all left out.
“We wanted to make sure we got the balance of the squad right,” said Southgate.
“I think in this day and age the squad is more important than ever.
“Different options for matches and for difference stages of the tournament as well.
“We’ve had to cover players who aren’t fully fit, but we think the balance is there and we’ve got cover in the positions we need.”
England will begin their campaign on November 21 against Iran.
ENGLAND SQUAD IN FULL
Position Player (Club)
GK Jordan Pickford (Everton)
GK Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
GK Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
DEF Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)
DEF John Stones (Manchester City)
DEF Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
DEF Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
DEF Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
DEF Ben White (Arsenal)
DEF Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
DEF Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
DEF Conor Coady (Everton)
MID Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)
MID Declan Rice (West Ham)
MID Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
MID Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
MID Mason Mount (Chelsea)
MID Jude Bellingham (Dortmund)
MID James Maddison (Leicester City)
FW Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)
FW Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
FW Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)
FW Phil Foden (Manchester City)
FW Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
FW Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
FW Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
