One of the talking points following the announcement of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup was the absence of Fikayo Tomori. Will it prove a mistake to leave the Milan defender behind?

The 24-year-old has grown into one of the strongest defenders in Italy since his arrival from Chelsea in January 2021 and was an instrumental part of Stefano Pioli’s Scudetto winning squad last season, looking confident and consistent in the Rossoneri backline. After the heights of last season, Tomori seemed to be a nailed-on part of the Three Lions squad for their campaign in Qatar.

Unfortunately for Tomori, his form has dipped in the first half of this season and a few errors have started to creep into his game. This drop is also visible in the underlying numbers, which show that the Englishman is winning less tackles (1.20 per 90 minutes to 1.46 per 90), blocking less shots (0.53 per 90 to 0.76) and making less clearances (2.56 per 90 to 2.78 per 90). 

Although Tomori’s form has dropped this season, it still seems puzzling for Southgate to leave the 24-year-old at home during the World Cup, especially when looking at some of the other inclusions. 

Options like Everton’s Conor Coady, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Tottenham’s Eric Dier suggest that there was easily space for the Milan centre back in the Three Lions squad, and a slight drop in form is not enough to justify his exclusion. 

The positive aspect for Milan and their fans is that Tomori can now use this six-week period to reset mentally and come out in the second half of the season with a point to prove. 

10 thought on “Was Southgate right to leave Tomori out of England squad for World Cup?”
  1. nobody knows the answer to whether it was the right selection until after the competition is over. If England win, Southgate was right. If England are out in the first round, he was wrong. Let’s wait and see.

  2. Tomori has been worse than last season but still better than those guys. Also, he has a different style of play compared to those three, so it wouldn’t have hurt to have him in the squad.

  3. #vogel “if England win the World Cup”. Funny, as if it’s even remotely possible – England will make up the numbers and unlike ‘66, we have VAR now.

  4. Pretty sure Southgate has been relegated as a player and coach in the EPL and as a coach with National team in nations league.

    So, he not afraid of failing that’s for sure.

  5. Oh the English. Too bad they will never win anything. Bottlers and overhyped team. Yes, some great individuals. But teams win WCs. I don’t mind any of the 31 teams winning the WC, Barr England. Lol.

  6. I can’t believe we live in a world where Harry McGuire gets in any team ahead of Tomori. England’s lose is our gain. Forza Milan

  7. Only English does stuff like this. They underestimate players playing outside of England. Hope they face Brazil at some point with Maguire starting !

  8. They would say the pace of the game is slow out there. Let’s select Leeds players instead. I think this is why they are surprised and so disappointed whenever the three lions or their clubs get dominated and beaten by Italy haha.

  9. shoulda have left maguire out if we are going by performances. maybe the very bad chelsea game ruined his chances

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