As James Maddison digests the shocking news and comes to terms with the fact that Gareth Southgate has dropped him from England’s Euro 2024 squad, it’s hard not to remember how things were different before. preparation for major events.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is the player everyone wants Southgate to pick ahead of the 2022 Winter World Cup in Qatar. Then at Leicester City, Maddison was at the peak of his powers, with his 22 Premier League goals in one year trailing only Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-min.
Will Southgate call him? He has made one appearance for Maddison before – as a substitute in a European Championship qualifier win over Montenegro in November 2019. People were shocked when Southgate included him.
That’s not the case this time. Maddison joined Tottenham from Leicester City for £40m last summer, in part because it would help him cement his place in England. This is certainly a good start. Is there a better player in the league than Madison through the first 10 games of the season? He is a key figure in a Spurs side that, under new manager Anj Postkoglu, has surged to the top of the table with eight wins and two draws.
Maddison brought the numbers — three goals and five assists. Still, I got the sense that this was a player at the peak of his confidence and expressiveness who was having a great time. Given Madison’s confidence, that’s saying something. The performance midfielder has found his ideal home. The platform is ready for him.
How are we to think that his omission from the England squad is not a surprise? On the one hand, in Southgate’s 4-2-3-1 formation, competition for positions on the three-man line behind the forward is very fierce. If Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer are all sure options, then Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon and Ebe Rich Eads has put together a strong case. And then there’s Jack Grealish.
Everything changed for Maddison and Spurs in early November’s 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea when he was forced off with an ankle injury that will keep him out for nearly three months. The 27-year-old hasn’t hit the same high profile since his return. Most of his metrics are down, not just the top line of one goal and four assists in 17 league games. His visits to Chelsea and Liverpool in early May were canceled. His English counterpart fared better.
The strange thing about Maddison is that his talent and hype haven’t been matched by his performances in an England shirt. Frustratingly, a knee injury he suffered while playing for Leicester City against West Ham United ahead of the World Cup affected his training and meant he was unable to feature in the Qatar game.
Newsletter Promotion Post
He made seven appearances for his country, four of them as a starter. He set up Bellingham’s late equalizer against Belgium in March and had some flashes as a substitute in Monday’s 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. It doesn’t yet constitute a whole body of work.
Those heady days of the countdown to the World Cup continue to resonate. Maddison emotionally recounted the good news of his phone call with Southgate; a photo he uploaded to social media of himself as a child wearing an England shirt with a St George’s cross painted on his face; how he was selected. Players attending England’s welcome press conference in Qatar.
His choice to attend media events speaks volumes about his personality, his star quality and how he loves to be the centerpiece – even at what he calls a family roast dinner. “Every minute was almost like a pinch-me moment,” Madison said at the time. He talks about how “dreams do have some reality to them.” Sadly, so do nightmares.
