Gareth Southgate explains Joe Hart, Ryan Bertrand omissions

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Gareth Southgate has said that Joe Hart and Ryan Bertrand were left out of the England squad due to poor form this season.

Hart has been England’s number one goalkeeper for the last three tournaments but Southgate has named Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Nick Pope as the squad’s three goalkeepers.

Bertrand made nine appearances for England in 2017 but Ashley Young and Trent Alexander-Arnold were named ahead of him.

“With Joe, we’ve got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons and the decision I was faced with was do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group? Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance? We felt the players all needed to be in on merit after their performances this season.

“Ryan is also very unfortunate in that it’s probably one of the strongest positions we have. Ryan has had a decent season but I just felt the others were ahead of him.

“Both calls were really tough. They’re both good guys and have contributed a lot throughout qualification, so it wasn’t an enjoyable part of the job and I feel it’s important to acknowledge their contribution in getting us to Russia.”

Southgate is yet to acknowledge the omission of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere.

Cover Photo: FIFA World Cup 2014 by Mariya Butd used under license by CC BY 2.0.

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