Gareth Southgate admits Tammy Abraham’s “poor run of scoring” ultimately cost him a place in the England squad for the World Cup.
Southgate preferred Callum Wilson as back-up to Harry Kane when releasing his 26-man squad for the tournament in Qatar.
The Newcastle forward has hit six goals and made two more in the Premier League this season, with Abraham scoring just his third Serie A goal against Sassuolo last night, with one assist.
“Tammy has had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time,” Southgate admitted. “It's not a case where we're three to four weeks away from the finals, we're 10 days.
“So form could be more important. We don't really know where they are until we see them face to face, on the training pitch, medical issues we're not completely aware of.
“We know the form we see in the matches, but you don't get the full picture.”
The Three Lions begin their Group B campaign against Carlos Queiroz’s side on 21 November at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Southgate pointed to James Maddison’s form and his unique playing style for earning his place in the squad.
“He’s playing really well,” Southgated expplained. “He’s a good player, we’ve always said that. He’s earned the right, he can give us something slightly different to the other attacking players we’ve got.
“At various stages there have been conversations about James. He is playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country.”
Confirmed England World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Nick Pope (Newcastle)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), James Maddison (Leicester), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle)
