James Maddison of Leicester City and Kyle Walker, a senior defender for Manchester City, have both been ruled out of England coach Gareth Southgate’s team’s first 2022 World Cup match against Iran later today. Southgate made this announcement at his pre-game news conference.
Gareth Southgate confirms that James Maddison and Kyle Walker will not play in the World Cup opener
Walker is putting the finishing touches on his comeback following a knee procedure in early October, while Maddison is out of the match with a knee injury he sustained in the final Premier League match before the World Cup finals.
Kyle Walker is making great progress but is a touch underprepared for this game in terms of conditioning. The defender “hasn’t been able to train since we came, so he will not be able to make the game tomorrow,” Southgate said, adding that “we are ahead of where we expected he may be at this moment.”
According to Xinhua, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz forewarned that England’s youthful players, including Phil Foden, would pose a serious threat to his team.
The person who worked as an assistant at Manchester United before moving on to Real Madrid in 2003 remarked, “This new generation that Gareth Southgate is introducing for national team is, in my opinion, possibly the most competitive English national team that I have seen since 1966.”
Joe Allen, a midfielder for Wales, won’t play in his country’s World Cup opener against the United States, according to head coach Rob Page. Due to a hamstring injury, the 32-year-old midfielder, who earned 72 caps for Wales, hasn’t participated in a competitive game since September.
Gareth Bale, the captain of Wales, stated during the news conference that he was ready for the enormous responsibility of guiding colleagues into World Cup matches.
Everyone had spent so much time dreaming of it. There have been a lot of close calls. It was amazing that we were the squad to cross the finish line, the 33-year-old stated.
Wales’ first World Cup game in 64 years will take place against the United States on Monday night at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.