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Newcastle United: Gareth Southgate slammed for leaving Callum Wilson on the bench

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Image for Newcastle United: Gareth Southgate slammed for leaving Callum Wilson on the bench

Podcast presenter Alex Hurst has slammed manager Gareth Southgate for not bringing on Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson during the most recent England game.

After winning their opening group game 6-2 against Iran, the Three Lions were brought back down to earth against the USA on Friday night as they had to settle for a point in an underwhelming 0-0 draw.

As the scoreline suggests, England were far from their best in an attacking sense and Newcastle striker Wilson had to watch on from the sidelines as an unused substitute.

While talking about the game on the True Faith NUFC Podcast, Hurst said the game was ‘crying out’ for Wilson to come on, while he also questioned a number of other tactical decisions from Southgate.

The presenter said (12:08): “Harry Kane didn’t look fit. And again, you know, essentially played in a midfield role leaving England with absolutely no one up top. I thought the game was crying out for Callum Wilson – I’m biased, I’m always going to think that.

“He brought [Marcus] Rashford on too late. The subs were poor, not bringing Foden on. You know, you could argue Trent Alexander-Arnold, could have come on for [Kieran] Tripper.

“And none of those things happened. If those things can’t happen in the group stage, they’re not going to happen in the knockout stages. So really, really disappointing tonight.”

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TIF thoughts on Callum Wilson and Newcastle United…

England finished the game with just three shots on target so it’s easy to see why some questions have been asked of Southgate and how his team was set up in an attacking sense.

Wilson has six goals in the Premier League this season, including three in his last four games before the break, and so he certainly would have been an in-form option to call upon.

What’s more, against Iran he managed to pick up an assist in just a 14-minute cameo, so he has already made an impact at the World Cup. However, Southgate evidently felt it was best to keep captain Harry Kane on the pitch for the whole game, meaning the Newcastle man could do nothing to help his team on the pitch.

With Wales still to come, perhaps Wilson will get a chance to do some real damage in the group before we head into the knock-out stages of the tournament.

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