West Ham United: Gareth Southgate makes bad decision as Jarrod Bowen left out of England starting XI v Italy
Gareth Southgate has made a bad decision by deciding to leave out West Ham star Jarrod Bowen from the England starting lineup against Italy on Tuesday (17 October).
The 26-year-old played the full 90 minutes on the right-hand side of the forward line in the 1-0 victory over Australia on Friday (13 October).
But that wasn’t enough for the Hammers winger to keep his place in the lineup after the Three Lions have announced their team for the clash against the Azzurri at Wembley, with Bowen named on the bench.
It is a big game for England as they look to go a long way towards securing their place at next summer’s European Championships by cementing their place at the top of Group C.
They are currently unbeaten – recording four wins and one draw from five games – and sit three points above Italy at the top of the group, with just three matches of qualifying left to play.
Bowen was handed a much-deserved recall by Southgate for the latest international fixtures after previously being frozen out for the best part of the past 15 months.
The winger has been on fire for West Ham this season, having scored five goals and laid on two assists in his opening nine games to help his side get off to an excellent start to the campaign.
He earned his fifth cap against Australia on Friday, where he started in one of the forward positions alongside the goalscorer Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish.
But after earning a 7 rating with SofaScore, recording an 86 per cent pass success rate and attempting three shots, he has been dropped from the starting lineup to play Italy.
The forward line will be made up of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford, with Grealish and Watkins also dropping out of the side.
It’s understandable for Kane to return as he is one of the best strikers in the world while Foden possesses undoubtedly quality, but Rashford’s inclusion isn’t justified.
The Manchester United forward has scored just one goal and laid on three assists in 10 games this season to show that he’s had far less of an impact than Bowen.
The latest snub for an Irons player from Southgate will not go down well with the Hammers fanbase after James Ward-Prowse has been left out of the squad altogether.
Bowen will now have to sit patiently and hope he gets an opportunity to prove his worth from the bench after the England boss has once again ignored club form and reverted back to his favourites.
In other West Ham news, the club’s “top spy” has handed in his notice at the London Stadium.