Despite his three-year hiatus from the international scene, James Maddison claimed he never lost hope of making the England team for the Fifa World Cup.
The 25-year-old has received just one cap to date. After being passed over during their last strong spells at Leicester, the midfielder was included in the 26-man roster for Qatar.
Southgate acknowledged Maddison’s form was too strong to ignore when he announced his World Cup roster last Thursday.
Madison: I never felt England’s chance had gone
The midfielder claimed that he never felt like the door was shut on him throughout that time. He used his dissatisfaction as “motivation to try and go back in and fight my way back in.”
Maddison claimed, “I’ve only played 30 minutes of international football. However, I’m a player with a lot of self-confidence.”
“I am a player who can make something happen if needed. And I’ll keep saying that with confidence because all the top athletes possess a sense of confidence that almost borders on arrogance.”
“There is a line, and you hear a lot of former players talk about it, but you have to have that confidence, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“So, if called upon, I will do my best to produce that moment of magic and have the self-belief that I belong at this stage.”
James Maddison says he had a positive scan on his injury and that he is fine now after his Leicester injury scare at the weekend. He made himself available for his club despite carrying a slight problem so respect to him for that.
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) November 16, 2022
Maddison is delighted to shelve holiday plans for World Cup
When the squad was revealed, the 25-year-old admitted he was dreading the worst, so he had planned a vacation to warm weather.
“I was going to go on vacation,” Maddison added, “playing down worries about a knee problem following positive scans.”
“I was getting ready for both. The goal and hope were to attend the World Cup. In contrast, I would have had a midseason vacation if it hadn’t been. And a chance to rest before the second half of the Premier League season.”
“My spouse, son, parents, and I had dinner together at home. I was hoping to see them. That is a memory I will always treasure.”
“I couldn’t tell you what Gareth said on the phone because it was a bit of a blur. It was an emotional time.”
“But I desired to visit my mother once more and offer her a warm embrace. We all had a great day that I will never forget.”
?ļø āI had a missed call from Gareth Southgate. I went and called him back and he gave me the good news. It was all a bit of a blur.ā
James Maddison says he missed the initial call from Gareth Southgate for his call-up. ?? pic.twitter.com/y1cadTFwdI
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 16, 2022
Maddison on the incident that happened in October 2019
Many people attribute that period spent wandering the globe to an event in October 2019 when he was photographed in a casino after quitting the team due to illness.
At the Al Wakrah media center, he stated, “I expected that may get brought up – and I’m genuinely delighted you asked.”
“People tend to forget that Gareth Southgate capped me and called me up following the casino incident. It wasn’t a huge concern to Gareth at the time.”
“It was exaggerated, and some of it was absurd compared to what occurred.”
“I don’t want to go into what happened because it happened in the past. Back then, it wasn’t a big deal.”
“I was capped after that incident, so people who often sayā¦ They’re just making an excuse for me as to why I wasn’t in the squad, but I don’t think that was the case.”
“I was called up and capped after we discussed it and put it to rest. That was never a problem; it was more of your group’s outside noise.”
