Gary Lineker reacts to late Maddison dash for England World Cup squad

England and Leicester City legend Gary Lineker has reacted to James Maddison’s surprise inclusion in the 2022 World Cup squad. Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has continuously overlooked Maddison in recent years, but calls to put him on the plane to Qatar have finally been answered, with the opener against Iran just days away. As word began to filter through that several midfielders, such as James Ward-Prowse and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, had failed to make the cut, hope began to grow among Foxes fans that Maddison would be selected. The 25-year-old attacking midfielder only has one international cap to his name, which came back in 2019, but his performances at club level since the start have last season have led to some spectacular numbers. Lineker, who scored 48 goals for England and played over 200 matches for Leicester, picked up on a social media post which explained that Maddison has notched 27 goal contributions this calendar year and ‘deserves’ to be on the plane to Qatar. “Absolutely,” he responded. “[Maddison] is the best example of forcing yourself into a squad at the very last, by the sheer brilliance of your performances.”JUST IN: England player ratings: Every member of Gareth Southgate’s Qatar World Cup squad ranked Gary Lineker has praised James Maddison for forcing his way into the World Cup squad (Image: GETTY)Led by Brendan Rodgers, the Foxes got off to a dismal start this season but an upturn in form has seen them climb the Premier League table in recent weeks. Despite faltering performances from some of his team-mates, Maddison has kept standards high with 10 goal contributions in 12 top-flight appearances. The former Coventry City academy prospect managed to sway Southgate leading up to the World Cup squad deadline, having scored against Wolves on October 23 and twice against Nottingham Forest three weeks prior. It remains to be seen exactly how he’ll be used in Qatar, if at all, given that he’s not a natural fit in a three-back formation. DON’T MISS: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp breaks silence on FSG sale after Carabao Cup win over Derby Gareth Southgate addressed the media after announcing his England World Cup squad (Image: Getty)”In the period of time [from the 2018 World Cup], some players have moved on age-wise, some haven’t progressed in the way they might’ve done, new players have emerged that have given us great competitions for places in most areas of the pitch. “So we’re excited by the group. We think there’s a lot of exciting talent within it. But the whole group have got to come together. There are a lot of challenges and it’s a unique situation for everybody, this tournament. The timing of it, and the obstacles just to get to this point – medically, as much as anything. So we’ve got to adapt better than everybody else in this coming period.”