James Maddison Leicester City
James Maddison is “desperate” to feature for England at the World Cup and vowed to be ready if manager Gareth Southgate calls on him to play. The Leicester City midfielder is yet to play a single minute in Qatar, watching the Three Lions progress to the quarter-finals from the bench. He has fully recovered from a knee injury and has been an unused substitute for the 3-0 wins over Wales and Senegal, Southgate instead turning to others in his squad when making second-half changes. Maddison is not demanding game-time and is happy to remain patient, especially as he is picking up plenty of pointers for his career just by being a part of the squad. It’s the first time he has been involved with England since his international debut three years ago.
James Maddison said: “Involvement is not always playing. That’s something I’ve learned in the last few weeks of being out here. Of course, every player wants to play and I’m no different. I’m desperate to get out there and show what I can do. But it’s my first major tournament at senior level and it’s brilliant to be a part of. It’s such a learning curve and you gain so much experience without realising on a day-to-day basis, how it works and what it takes to be successful. And we have been successful so far. What a performance last night, a really convincing win against a good Senegal team in the knockouts. I’m feeling good, the injury’s gone, I’m feeling 100 per cent. I’ve been training for a while now and I’ve been available for the last couple of games. It’s just about staying patient and staying ready, which I am, working hard and trying to be an option for the manager if I’m needed.”
Maddison’s next chance of playing comes against France in the quarter-finals this weekend. England take on the reigning champions on Saturday night, playing for a semi-final against one of Spain, Morocco, Portugal or Switzerland. He is the only City player remaining at the tournament, with Papy Mendy knocked out following Senegal’s defeat to England. Danny Ward, Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne, Wout Faes, and Daniel Amartey were all eliminated in the group stages.
