England manager Gareth Southgate insisted his 23-man squad is built to win now rather than building for the future, despite picking his country's third youngest ever squad for a World Cup.
Veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere were among the big names to miss out on Southgate's squad, whilst 19-year-old uncapped Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was included.
"We are not picking young players because we are trying to buy ourselves time, we are picking young players because we believe they are the best," said Southgate on Thursday.
"Maybe it is brave to take players without the number of caps, but we have to give these guys belief."
"We have great faith in them. They lack some big match experience, but how are they going to get that? I don't want to limit what they think is possible. We need to enjoy the ride and embrace the tournament." - 'Unique situation' -
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