Why James Maddison must go to the World Cup as myths debunked
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The big day for footballers up and down the country is nearly here as Gareth Southgate names the 26 players he will be taking to Qatar for the World Cup.
When that announcement comes at 2pm on Thursday, James Maddison will be at the centre of the discussion. Either the Leicester City playmaker will be left out, despite a nationwide clamour for him to get his chance, or Southgate will bring him on board. Here, we set out exactly why he should go, and dispute some of the myths around him.
Form over reputation
Southgate said at the start of his England tenure, in a quote that was always going to haunt him, that he would choose players on form and not reputation. Maddison’s absence over the past year in light of such a comment is baffling.
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Because since the start of last season, Maddison has registered a combined 30 Premier League goals and assists, second of any English player only to captain Harry Kane. For 12 months, he has been consistently productive for City, showing off his creativity, his excellence from dead balls, his striking from range, and his improvements in getting into the box to score.
Plus, the upward trajectory has not plateaued. He’s still getting better. He had a little dip at the start of this season when City were performing poorly, but since then, he has been influential in their results, reaching new heights in confidence and quality, practically dancing around the Everton 11 in his last outing.
He’s now at a point where every touch is an effective one. He is terrific at moving his body to create space for himself, and he usually makes the right decision at the top end of the pitch. In short, he is one of the best-performing English players right now.
He’s more than just a 10
One of the debates around Maddison is that England don’t play with a number 10, so there’s no slot for him in the side. But to pigeonhole Maddison is unfair. He’s not played as an out-and-out number 10 for a while.
At City over the past year, he’s either played in a hybrid right-wing role, where he tracks the opposition left-back when out of possession but then moves inside behind the striker when on the attack, or he’s played as a number eight, working box-to-box.
Whether Southgate opts for his 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3, Maddison will comfortably be able to take on the duties of any role given the flexibility he has had to show to thrive in this City line-up. It’s unfair to say he’s only a number 10 and nothing more.
He puts in the hard yards
Flashy, tricky, attack-minded players are often characterised as work-shy. That’s possibly how Maddison has been viewed, and while that may have been accurate a couple of years ago, it is certainly not the case now.
Since being left out of the FA Cup final starting line-up, and with Rodgers making clear to him he doesn’t get into the team unless he works hard, he has upped his game on the defensive side, pressing well. Not only that, but he is tactically astute, and can often be seen telling team-mates when to push forward and close down the opposition.
Matured character
Because Maddison’s form has been so good, it has led to people to speculate that it must be his character that is keeping him from being picked. There was the casino incident – a non-story in truth, but one he would have been better off avoiding – and when he broke Covid rules with a few other City players. For the latter, he was dropped by Rodgers, a decision praised by Southgate.
But for those to cost him an England spot appears to be harsh. There have been others, like Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, who have been involved in similar misdemeanours and it has not stopped them from keeping their place in the squad.
Maddison may also have a black mark against him because of his involvement at the Under-21 Euros in 2019, when England crashed out in the group stage, with FA technical director Les Reed saying that arrogance in the group led to mistakes. Only Foden and Mason Mount from that squad have gone on to be regulars in the senior side.
But Maddison is much more mature these days, especially since becoming a father last year. It’s clear how switched on he is in his post-match interviews. He’s also a good friend of plenty of those in the squad, and so would fit into the group with ease.
Surprise factor
There is an argument to say it would be difficult to fit Maddison into the team because he’s not played with the group for so long. He would not have time to learn the intricacies of Southgate’s system, and therefore could not possibly operate as effectively as Foden, Mount, or any others.
But that could also work in England’s favour. If the Three Lions don’t know how they are going to use him, neither do the opposition. There is no amount of scouting that England’s opponents could do to work out how Maddison would play in this team.
That surprise factor could come in handy, particularly if England are chasing a game late on. He could be the wildcard to turn a defeat into a draw, or a draw into a win.
Do you think Maddison will go to the World Cup? Let us know in the comments section below.
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