5 players who should've made the England squad

#5 James Ward-Prowse

James Ward-Prowse would offer something different in England's midfield

The former England U-21 captain has already played a game for England’s senior side – he appeared as a substitute in their 1-0 loss away in Germany in March – but he wasn’t named in the squad for the last qualifier against Scotland, instead going back to the U-21’s to take part in the European Championships.

In that tournament he again showed his skills from central midfield, pulling the strings alongside the likes of Lewis Baker and Nathaniel Chalobah as England made the semi-finals.

Now firmly established as one of Southampton’s first team players, Ward-Prowse would provide something England have seemed to lack recently, that being more creativity in the centre of the midfield. While Dele Alli is an excellent goalscoring midfielder he tends to play further forward, and in recent games, this has left England lacking a spark in the centre, as the likes of Eric Dier and Jake Livermore are more defensive players.

Ward-Prowse could provide England with a deep-lying playmaker like so many other countries use to devastating effect.

Another plus point for the youngster? He’s a dead-ball specialist, something that England have definitely lacked in recent time, as in the 2016 European Championships in particular, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane came under criticism for their delivery of both free kicks and corners. England have plenty of central midfield talent but Ward-Prowse provides something a little different and that’s exactly the sort of thing that Gareth Southgate could do with right now.