Gareth Southgate names the three young stars that were “unlucky” to miss out on England squad
England squad named
Gareth Southgate named his England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino.
The Three Lions take on their next two opponents knowing that they need to pick up four points from six in order to ensure that they qualify for the World Cup in Qatar next year, with Poland waiting in the wings in case of any potential slip ups.
And as a result, it was a strong squad that Southgate named, including the likes of Harry Maguire, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, despite the lack of form from the important trio.
Confirming your #ThreeLions squad for November! 👊
— England (@England) November 4, 2021
There was also a return to the squad for young star Jude Bellingham, although Manchester United duo Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho as well as Atleti defender Kieran Trippier all missed out on the final 25.
Southgate names trio of young stars that nearly made the cut
Of course, it is a quirk of England’s current crop of players that swathes of performers can count themselves unlucky not to be included in the Three Lions set up due to the limitations of squad size. Such is the competition for places that Southgate named a 33 man squad ahead of the Euro 2020 tournament, before eventually whittling it down to 26.
And now, Southgate has named the three youth stars that nearly made the cut, revealing that Palace pair Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi as well as Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe were all unlucky not to be called up to the squad.
Southgate names Smith-Rowe, Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi as players who were pushing and unlucky to miss out on the England squad.
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) November 4, 2021
Smith Rowe’s omission was perhaps the most surprising, with the Arsenal man continuing to make huge strides of improvement as well as increasing his end product so far this campaign.
🗣”We think the players we picked are just a little bit ahead at the moment.”
Gareth Southgate says that Emile Smith Rowe came very close to getting a spot in the squad pic.twitter.com/TFCynolZdq
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 4, 2021
If he keeps his form up, he could well be in the reckoning come November 2022.
Read more:
Arsenal duo and Chelsea loanee snubbed in latest Three Lions squad for November fixtures
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