Fikayo Tomori's apparent exclusion from Gareth Southgate's 2026 World Cup considerations is a curious piece of business that leaves one scratching the...
Fikayo Tomori's apparent exclusion from Gareth Southgate's 2026 World Cup considerations is a curious piece of business that leaves one scratching their head. GoalZaza has learned that the Milan centre half is set to miss out on the squad, and while it might feel like old news to those who track England's defensive pecking order, it raises serious questions about how we judge form versus reputation.Let us be brutally honest for a moment. This is a player who has been a linchpin at the heart of one of Serie A's most resolute defences. Tomori reads the game at a speed that most English defenders can only dream of. His recovery pace is electric, his one on one defending has been consistently clinical, and he has navigated the tactical demands of Italian football with an intelligence that should, by all rights, make him a shoo. in for a team that occasionally looks exposed in transitional play. When you watch Milan sit in a low block and then burst forward, Tomori is often the catalyst. So why the cold shoulderPerhaps it is the old bias, that nagging suspicion that the Premier League remains the only true proving ground for international football. Or maybe it is a question of tactical flexibility. Southgate seems to favour defenders who can step into midfield or who offer a specific left footed balance. Tomori, for all his athleticism, is a pure stopper. He is a man who wants to defend his box, not a ball playing metronome. And in the modern game, that can be seen as a limitation when you are picking the final 23. You have to wonder if the England coaching staff have really watched his evolution under Stefano Pioli, or if they are still judging him on a few patchy minutes against Brentford from three years ago.The real shame here is the message it sends to footballers who take the brave step of testing themselves abroad. Tomori has not bottled it. He has gone to a foreign league, adapted to a different culture, and won silverware. Yet the door remains ajar, but only just. For a player who has shown this level of consistency, being left behind feels less like a footballing decision and more like a tick box exercise. In the mixer of a World Cup campaign, you need defenders who can handle the heat. Tomori has ice in his veins when it matters. To leave him out is a gamble Southgate might live to regret.
