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Gareth Southgate leaves door open for Joe Hart England recall and hints that Adam Lallana could yet make World Cup squad
Gareth Southgate insisted on Thursday that it is "not the end" for Joe Hart with England but that the form of other goalkeepers left no place for him in the World Cup squad.
Hart was the odd man out on Wednesday as Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Nick Pope earned selection for this summer's trip to Russia.
READ MORE: Ranked! England's 23-man World Cup squad... in order of their importance this summer
READ MORE: England's World Cup rejects - a brief history of woe and where-are-they-nows
And Southgate said on Thursday: "Of course it was a difficult call. He played in most of our qualifying matches, he's been a big part of the England team the last few years and he's a valued member of the squad.
"But in the end I've got to look at performances over the last 18 months with their clubs and the three lads we picked were the three best goalkeepers in the league this year."
Asked about Hart's future prospects, he added: "I pick players on form and if he's playing well for his club, why wouldn't we select him?
"There's no reason for this to be the end. He has an important career decision this summer and I hope he can be back at his very best."
Butland, Pickford and the uncapped Pope have won just nine caps between them but Southgate has no concerns.
"They are the best three English goalkeepers we have in the league," said Southgate. "We are not picking young players because they are young and we are trying to buy ourselves time.
"We believe they are the best in their positions for the way we want to play. With the goalkeepers they have been the best three.
"OK, maybe it's brave to take players without a number of caps, but we have to give these guys belief.
"We're picking them not because they're young, but because they are the best in their positions. We know they're not the finished article.
"That's where we are at the moment. As a country we pick from 33 per cent of the (Premier League). It is quite a unique situation."
Southgate also suggested that Adam Lallana could yet make the squad after being initially named on the stand-by list.
"I've had continual dialogue with Adam throughout the season, close and personal conversations," Southgate said. "It has been a frustrating season for him. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't be anywhere near the squad but he is a player we have a lot of time for."
"Maybe if we give him 10 days and who knows what happens.
"He might have a big impact in the Champions League final and we have an issue (an injury). The reality of the conversations have had with him is that to find performances on the back of the limited minutes will be really difficult."
That's your lot
Typically level-headed, Gareth is done.
The main takeaways are that:
Lallana could yet make the squad
The door is still open for Hart long-term
Wilshere and Hart's omission from stand-by list was Southgate's decision
Magic moments
Why did Klopp rather than Southgate tell TAA he had made the squad? "It is nice for them to be able to tell their players. When you can deliver news like that I think it is a special moment."
He adds that he said to Klopp: "You can deliver the good news, I’ll deliver the bad, horrible phone calls."
Bromance
Are you worried about club cliques? "It didn't happen in 96 when we got to a semi-final. It certainly wasn't an issue. I started to see it a little bit towards the end of my time with England. I don't see it with this group. Most of these lads have grown up together in the youth teams."
He then adds: "You rarely see Jesse [Lingard] and Marcus [Rashford] when they are not holding hands or doing something!"
Demons
Did you deliberately take players with no previous experience of tournament failure? "I don't think it was essential but it can be of benefit."
Hurdles to overcome
Sessegnon? "We know all of the young players, Sancho, Foden as well. Super young players coming through but the hurdles to overcome to be in that position - people like Trent and Ruben have fulfilled many of those steps. The other guys - I don't think we'd be helping their own development."
Learning lessons
Tempted to recall James Milner, who is retired from international football? "I remember one previous England manager got players who had retired from international football to play. I don't think that was roundly received as being a good idea". Southgate appears to be referring here to Fabio Capello and the 2010 World Cup.
Southgate adds: "I'm a big fan of James and tried to sign him previously."
Jon-no
Why no Shelvey? "We know all of the English players in the league, their strengths and their weaknesses. We assess someone on the way we want to play, in terms of temperament, Gerrard, Vieira, Keane have more red cards than anyone, it wouldn't be a primary factor."
Special case - Southgate's a big fan
On dropping Lallana: "I've had continual dialogue with Adam throughout the season, close and personal conversations, It has been a frustrating season for him. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't be anywhere near the squad but he is a player we have a lot of time for."
TAA
On Alexander-Arnold:"He is the next-best English full-back in the league. It looks like he will be playing in the Champions League final and he was involved in our junior teams, he is a player I know."
Rolling the dice
Is it a risk picking three such inexperienced goalkeepers? "They're the best three English goalkeepers we have. We're not picking young and inexperienced players to buy ourselves some time. We're picking them because we believe they're the best three players in their position."
First reserves
Did Hart and Wilshere decide themselves not to be on stand-by list? "No, it was my decision. Once you make a call, particularly with senior players, then you have to look at the standby list as a separate entity."
J-axed
On Wilshere: "Jack had a good spell in the lead up to Christmas and just after. He was not as effective towards the end of the season."
Consummate pro
"Hart took the news very professionally. Of course very disappointed, as was Ryan Bertrand, who has also been involved in the qualifiers.
"Hopefully I'll get the chance to talk to them in more detail about it at a later date. I know as a player it's good to talk it through in a few months time.
"Joe could definitely play for England in the future. I've picked players on form."
Hart-breaker
Why he dropped Joe Hart: A very big decision. He's been a big part of the team and the squad but I have to look at performances over last 18 months.
The three goalkeepers I've picked have been the three best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season.
We're under way
Southgate has begun...(there's a video stream above so you can see it in all its glory).
Paul Hayward's take
Our chief sports writer was upbeat about Southgate's squad, and wrote in today's paper that:
Those of us who have given up on England several times – most recently in 2010 and 2016 – are struck by a strange rekindling of interest. Gareth Southgate’s bold squad selection is unlikely to bring the World Cup here from Russia but at least there is a sense of renewal.
Play Gareth
Who would you pick for England's opener against Tunisia? You can have a go below, which currently includes my team for what it's worth:
Preamble
Morning all, Gareth Southgate will be up in about half an hour. In the meantime, have a read of the below which breaks down just how young, inexperienced (and exciting?) this England squad is.
England will go into this summer's World Cup with one of their youngest ever major tournament squads - and with an eye-catching lack of experience in goal.
Gareth Southgate's 23-man group was announced on Wednesday, with an average age of 26 years and 18 days making it the third-youngest squad to represent England at a World Cup.
The situation is particularly noticeable when it comes to England's last line of defence, where Joe Hart's omission leaves 25-year-old Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, 24, and uncapped 26-year-old Nick Pope who have made only nine international appearances between them.
There are warm-up games against Nigeria and Costa Rica for the trio to add to that tally, but their current total does not even match the average caps among England's trio of keepers at any other tournament this century.
Even at Euro 2004, when the goalkeepers averaged 11 caps and first-choice David James had just 24 to his name, back-ups Paul Robinson and Ian Walker went into the tournament with nine caps between them. Hart had 22 caps and Rob Green 12 going into Euro 2012, with Butland then uncapped.
In the World Cups of 2002 and 2010 England's starting keeper had at least a half-century of caps, while Hart had 41 going into the 2014 tournament and James had 34 to Robinson's 21 in 2006. The European Championships of 2000 and 2016 saw David Seaman and Hart respectively in the 50s.
The surprise selection of Liverpool's 19-year-old full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, helped bring down the average age of this year's party - only in 2006 and 1958 have England gone into a World Cup with a younger squad.
Marcus Rashford's established presence in the squad belies the fact he will not turn 21 until next season while Dele Alli and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are just 22, Raheem Sterling is 23 and Eric Dier, John Stones and Jordan Pickford are 24.
The 1958 squad had an average age of 25 years and 81 days, with half of the 22 players aged 23 or younger, while in 2006 the average age was 25 years and 286 days after shock call-up Theo Walcott went into the tournament aged 17 years and 85 days.
The Euro 2016 squad, with Rashford still 18 and Alli having turned 20 only around two months before the tournament, was also slightly younger than Southgate's selection this time around at 25 and 307 days, making 2018 England's fourth-youngest squad for any major tournament.
Gary Cahill's seven appearances at major tournaments - four at Euro 2016 and three in the previous World Cup - are the most for any player in Southgate's group after Hart, with his 10 tournament appearances, was jettisoned.
Danny Welbeck is surprisingly second in that list, matching Sterling for six appearances but with more time on the pitch.
