Former England midfielder Joe Cole has claimed that James Maddison has the ‘bravery’ to push the Three Lions towards the latter stages of the World Cup.
The Leicester star was named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the upcoming tournament in Qatar following his sensational form for the Foxes. Ahead of the enforced break, Maddison had seven goals and four assists to his name in the Premier League alone and was one of the most in-form English players in the top flight.
Despite that, there was still doubt over whether the 25-year-old would be granted a place in the 26-man squad having only previously earned a solitary cap for his country. He was included, though, a decision that Cole believes was straightforward, and the former Chelsea playmaker has backed Maddison to play a big role for the Three Lions later in the tournament.
Speaking with William Hill, Cole said: “The big one for me was Maddison. Form-wise and quality-wise he should be playing, but also because of his personality – he’s an England player. He won’t shirk the responsibilities; he’ll get on the ball.
“There will be times later in the tournament when the game might be in the balance and you need to be brave and accept the ball as a midfield player, and he will do that. You can play No.10s deeper now and we need to set the tempo of our games. I’m so happy he’s in.”
Southgate has a few tricky decisions to make regarding his team to start the opening game of the tournament against Iran on Monday. He has already been given a headache with Maddison being forced to miss training on Thursday as he manages a knee injury.
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Intriguingly, Cole has not backed the Leicester man to be in the England starting XI despite his delight over his inclusion in the squad.
He continued: “It will evolve as the tournament goes on. Five substitutions as well – it’s a game of 16 players effectively. I’ll go [Jordan] Pickford in goal, centre halves I’ll go [John] Stones and [Benjamin] White in the group stage.
“[Kieran] Trippier right-back, [Luke] Shaw left-back. Then I’d play a midfield of Declan [Rice], [Jude] Bellingham and Mason [Mount] – Declan holding then the two 10s given licence to go forward.
“Then I’d play Harry Kane up top, obviously, then probably start with Phil Foden on the right, then [Bukayo] Saka or [Raheem] Sterling on the left. There are four players who are going to play regularly – Pickford, Stones, Declan Rice then Harry Kane.
“You only take Kane off when the game’s done. That will be a problem for the other strikers because they know they’re going there to play second fiddle. Everywhere else is up for grabs.”
Following their clash with Iran, the Three Lions face United States before rounding off their group-stage commitments against Wales.
