England World Cup squad 2018: Adam Lallana axed by boss Gareth Southgate as he chooses novice 23 for Russia

GARETH SOUTHGATE has snubbed Adam Lallana to go for broke by naming a string of youngsters in his England squad to take to the World Cup.

Southgate has ignored the claims of more experienced players, with Liverpool star Lallana the biggest name to miss out, and pinned his hopes on a novice group he hopes to lead the country to glory in Russia.

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Liverpool teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold and Burnley keeper Nick Pope are both included despite never having made a senior international appearance.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has made the cut, with the Crystal Palace midfielder and Everton's Jordan Pickford only boasting two caps apiece.

But there is a place in the travelling party for Gary Cahill, with the Chelsea defender's experience and return to form in the last month of the season serving him well.

Southgate's decision to axe Joe Hart from his plans means he will go to the tournament with three keepers who have just nine caps between them.

Rookie Pope and the highly-rated Pickford are joined by Stoke's Jack Butland - the most experienced of the trio with just seven appearances to his name.

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The decision to include Alexander-Arnold is perhaps the biggest shock, given the teenager has not figured in any senior squads until now.

But his form in the tail end of the season, in which he has impressed helping Liverpool reach the Champions League final, has tempted Southgate to give him his chance.

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Ironically, it was a season ending injury to his Anfield team-mate Joe Gomez that opened up a path into the group who will travel to Russia.

With Southgate keen on adopting a three-man defence with wing-backs in Russia, Trent-Alexander's athleticism has seen him get the nod.

Lallana has missed the majority of the season for Liverpool through injury, and has been forced to settle for a place as stand-by, along with keeper Tom Heaton, Lewis Cook, Jake Livermore and James Tarkowski.

Southgate said: “I believe this is a squad which we can be excited about.

“It is a young group, but with some really important senior players so I feel the balance of the squad is good, both in terms of its experience, its character and also the positional balance.

England's Group G fixtures at Russia 2018

June 18: Tunisia, 7pm (Volgograd)

June 24: Panama, 1pm (Nizhy Novgorod)

June 28: Belgium, 7pm (Kaliningrad)

“We have a lot of energy and athleticism in the team, but players that are equally comfortable in possession of the ball and I think people can see the style of play we’ve been looking to develop.

“The selection process has been over months really, it’s not just been the last few weeks. We feel the team are improving and we want to continue that momentum.

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“The first call up for Trent Alexander-Arnold is well deserved. When we pick young players, it’s not just because they are young, it’s because their performances deserve it.

“We’ve also had a couple of injuries with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, which is a huge blow for them personally and disappointing for us.”

The other big calls Southgate had to make were telling Hart and Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand they were not in his plans.

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He added: “Ryan and Joe have played a lot over the last two years so they’re not decisions we took lightly. I could’ve had easier conversations by keeping them involved.

“With Joe, we’ve got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons and the decision I was faced with was do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group?

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"Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance? We felt the players all needed to be in on merit after their performances this season.

“Ryan is also very unfortunate in that it’s probably one of the strongest positions we have. Ryan has had a decent season but I just felt the others were ahead of him.

“Both calls were really tough. They’re both good guys and have contributed a lot throughout qualification, so it wasn’t an enjoyable part of the job and I feel it’s important to acknowledge their contribution in getting us to Russia.”