James Ward Prowse has been picked by Gareth Southgate for his England squad to face Switzerland and Cote D’Ivoire, all Saints fans will be pleased to see that JWP has got the recognition this seasons performances deserve.

James Ward Prowse will give Southampton supporters something to be interested in when the Three Lions take on Switzerland and Cote D’Ivoire later this month.

Ward Prowse was scandalously left out of the squad for last summer's Euro's and how England could have used him if only as an impact player to take free kicks and set pieces, given that with a squad top heavy with players in several same positions who never got a kick in the tournament Ward Prowse could have been an asset.

The full squad is

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace, loan from Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham United), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards: Tammy Abraham (AS Roma), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 16:13 - Mar 17 Although JWPs not been at his absolute best in the last few games, this is a well deserved call up based on the level of performance in the run of games before that. KWP should also have given the nod. He's been immense for months and would give extra flexibility to the squad by regularly playing on either side.
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DellBoyWally added 17:15 - Mar 17 It must be annoying and frustrating for a player with talent and versatility to be omitted whilst someone like Magiure, who has gone from being a donkey to being a pack mule, being selected based on team name rather than ability.
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underweststand added 08:56 - Mar 18 IS Southgate beginning to realise that JWP really has a place in the England set-up, OR is it just a gesture to silence media critics who regularly proclaim " Prowsey is best ". These two matches are "friendlies " so we can expect most of the squad to get 45 minutes each, but that isn't the answer to coming any nearer to a World Cup XI for Qatar. Southgate has two problems (1)..In choosing JWP it means leaving out a player from one of " those big clubs", and the media won't let him forget that if things go wrong whilst Prowsey is on the pitch. Saints have seen that on many occasions JWP has been a game-changer / match winner and yet is still ignored. (2) We lost the Euro Final because we couldn't find players capable of taking a decent free -kick or scoring a penalty. No-one disputes JWP 's free-kick prowess and his penalty record is very good (if not entirely faultless), but he has had far more success than those youngsters chosen in the Final who had never taken a penalty in anger in their somewhat short careers. IF a similar situation occurs AGAIN in a WC Semi Final / FInal the ghost of those many failed tournaments will come back to haunt Southgate - and even cause his sacking for ignoring Prowsey's best qualities. He must convince himself that JWP is one of his key names (or not) - or face the eventual consequences of yet another failure.

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