James Maddison once again had to watch on from home as England took to the field in their UEFA Nations League campaign. Cut from Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad for Euro 2024 and then also not included in Lee Carsley's first selection for September's international fixtures, the Tottenham man was unfortunately overlooked once more for this month's games against Greece and Finland.
Despite wowing on a consistent basis for Leicester City and also delivering some very good displays in a Tottenham shirt, it has never quite happened for the 27-year-old on the international stage. Maddison has been restricted to only seven appearances for England, with six of those caps coming in the past 18 months.
What makes things incredibly difficult for Maddison is that the national side have an incredible selection of players in his area of the pitch. Tottenham's No.10 is in a battle with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White just for a place in the squad never mind the starting XI.
All the player can do right now is perform on a consistent basis for Tottenham and hope that an international call comes his way. What could certainly help Maddison going forward is the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as England's new head coach.
The ex-Chelsea man has signed an 18-month contract to lead the Three Lions and the hope will be that he can deliver success on the pitch at the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel is a proven winner and it looks to be a really shrewd appointment by the FA.
“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team," said Tuchel following confirmation of his appointment. "I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already. To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.
"Working closely with Anthony [Barry] as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank the FA, in particular Mark [Bullingham] and John [McDermott], for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”
Tuchel's England journey will begin on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Interim boss Carsley will remain in charge for England's final UEFA Nations League games next month as the team travel to Greece and host Republic of Ireland.
Tuchel will be keeping a close eye on England's last two games of 2024 and Maddison will be determined to be part of Carsley's final squad before the new man takes over at the turn of the year. The 51-year-old most definitely knows about what Maddison can produce on the pitch after his Chelsea team's battles with Leicester City during his time in England.
Playing in the FA Cup final against Chelsea in May 2021, the attacking midfielder got his name on the scoresheet at Stamford Bridge 12 months later in a 1-1 draw. A pivotal man for Leicester that campaign as he registered a total of 30 goal involvements following 18 goals and 12 assists in 53 games, the player quite clearly came to the attention of the German and Chelsea as The Guardian reported in June 2023 that the west London club had scouted Maddison extensively when Tuchel was in the Stamford Bridge hotseat.
Maddison has caught the eye in spells since his move to Tottenham, with the player delivering some outstanding showings in the opening few months of the 2023/24 season as well as the start of this term. Always going to be a big year for the player after his England omission, Maddison is now producing the kind of form that saw him earn an England recall in late 2022 after so much time in the international wilderness.
The ex-Coventry City ace has been heavily involved in Tottenham's attacking play since the season started and he so far has two goals and three assists to his name. He was incredibly unlucky to miss out on the England squad for October's international games and Carsley may have no choice but to recall him in November if his current form continues and possibly goes on to even greater heights.
A return to the England reckoning next month would be the ideal way for Maddison to end his year and also put himself in a good position for when Tuchel takes on the reins come January. A new England head coach, but more specifically the appointment of Tuchel, could just be what Maddison needs to get his international career firmly back on track and finally add to his seven England caps.
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