JUST one week ago, James Maddison was preparing for heartbreak and planning a family holiday during the World Cup.
Last Thursday, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers invited English football’s latest folk hero into his office for a heart-to-heart, to plan how he would deal with rejection from Gareth Southgate.
Yet here Maddison is, in Qatar, as a wide-eyed tournament rookie, admitting he still feels like a little kid, his face painted in the flag of St George, infected with World Cup fever.
England chief Southgate bowed to public pressure and selected the attacking-midfield form horse with seven goals and four assists in the Premier League this term.
Maddison, 25, still has to compete with Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and last year’s people’s champion Jack Grealish for one place in Southgate’s starting line-up – provided the England manager sticks with his favoured back five.