England’s World Cup squad: player, press and fan reaction

Gareth Southgate’s side will play Tunisia, Panama and Belgium in Group G in Russia

Ashley Young England squad World Cup
Ashley Young has always dreamt of playing for England at the World Cup
(Image credit: Twitter)

Gareth Southgate’s 23-man England squad for the 2018 Fifa World Cup was announced today with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek selected for a seat on the plane to Russia.

While Southgate did not make any “wildcard” picks for the finals, he has opted for experienced players such as Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck to compliment his younger stars.

Manchester United’s Ashley Young and Manchester City’s Fabian Delph - who can both play a number of positions in defence and midfield - also get the call.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

We look at how the players reacted to the announcement and what the football media and England fans think of Southgate’s 23-man squad.

See more

How the press reacted to Southgate’s squad

The Sun’s Duncan Wright says Southgate “goes for broke” in Russia: “Southgate has ignored the claims of more experienced players, with Liverpool star [Adam] Lallana the biggest name to miss out, and pinned his hopes on a novice group he hopes to lead the country to glory in Russia.”

Former England defender Sol Campbell tells Sky Sports News that Fabian Delph deserves his call-up: “He’s been in a top, top side at Manchester City, with Pep [Guardiola] and the whole thing that comes with it. If you’re training against those kind of players week in, week out you can only benefit. It elevates your skill factor. When you get to a big tournament you’re not going to be surprised. He’s done well, getting tackles, he’s very mobile, gets around and he’s been in high pressure scenarios in the Champions League.”

The Daily Mail’s Glenn Williams focuses on England’s inexperienced squad: “Gareth Southgate has named England’s least-experienced 23-man World Cup squad since 1962, with the group averaging just 19 caps per player. It is certainly a nod to the new era, with Southgate including just five players - Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck, Phil Jones and Gary Cahill - who played in the last World Cup in 2014. Nobody in the squad has won a World Cup match.”

Newcastle Chronicle’s Sean McCormick says Newcastle fans are not happy with Jonjo Shelvey and Jamaal Lascelles missing out: “It is a disappointing blow for both players after enjoying excellent seasons at club level and their omission from the squad hasn’t gone down well with Newcastle fans.”

Football.London’s Tashan Deniran-Alleyne reports on Gary Cahill’s inclusion: “Despite not performing at his very best over the course of the season, it would appear that his experience at major international tournaments has worked in his favour as he’s one of four central defenders in the squad alongside John Stones, Phil Jones and Harry Maguire.”

Writing for the Daily Mirror, Jack Rathborn says Southgate had some “controversial decisions” to make: “Southgate made a number of tough calls this week and notified experienced duo Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere, who have 109 caps between them, that they had missed out.”

England players: how they reacted

A dream comes true for Ashley Young.

See more

“It’s an honour,” says Dele Alli.

See more

Marcus Rashford has some big news: “Mum we’re off to the World Cup!”

See more

Jamie Vardy “can’t wait to get going”.

See more

“We will give it our all,” says Kieran Trippier.

See more

Trent, you’re off to the World Cup...

See more

Harry Maguire’s sister is proud of her brother today.

See more

England fan reaction

While the England stars celebrate their call-up for the World Cup in Russia, some fans were not happy with some of the players left out of the squad. Many believe Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey should have been on the plane while others were not as excited as Southgate is

See more
See more

Alexander-Arnold must be “gutted”...

See more

Not a Danny Welbeck fan then?

See more

“Cry into my pint.”

See more

No golden generation?

See more

“Fair play to Gareth Southgate.”

See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us