Southgate: Young England squad is not a gamble

Southgate announced his squad on Wednesday, picking the third youngest set of players of all time for England, and leaving out more experienced players such as Joe Hart and Chris Smalling. Included in the 23-man squad are youngsters such as 19-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold and twice capped Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Speaking to the press on Thursday, the England boss has dismissed the idea that it is a risk to put his faith in young players.

"I don't see it as a gamble and I don't think being free of inhibition is gambling," he said.

"Maybe it is brave to take players without the number of caps, but we have to give these guys belief."

Southgate alluded to the quantity of foreign players in the English top flight, but said he is positive about the direction that England are going in.

"We pick from 33% of the league, which is quite a unique situation," he explained. "But there is excitement with where we are going."

"I think it's being fearless in how we want to play, being brave enough to put people in and not think, 'well, he's the best player but he's young, maybe we should pick a lesser player who's a bit more experienced.'

"You can make excuses at times for not putting young people in, accepting that they will make mistakes because of the way we were asking them to play, but I will take responsibility for that. It's important for me to allow them to go and perform."