Football’s like a theatre and I love to entertain the fans... that’s how I play

AS the England squad packed up to leave their Al Wakrah training base the morning after their agonising World Cup quarter-final defeat by France, Gareth Southgate sought out James Maddison.

- Dan Kilpatrick

A surprise but deserving inclusion in Southgate's squad for Qatar, Maddison was restricted to a watching brief as he nursed a painful knee injury sustained on the eve of the finals.

"Gareth said he knew it had been tough, but he was really impressed with the way I had carried myself round the group," said Maddison, who is back with England and preparing for tomorrow's Euro qualifier against Ukraine.

"Him putting his arm around me and saying that as we were leaving stuck with me.

"There was obviously a little bit of [resentment]. I remember being in my room after I got my knock and thinking, 'Why now?' But I loved being there.

"A younger version of myself would have been a bit more sulky, a bit more moody, a bit more moany. But I thought, 'You know what, I am at the World Cup for my country'.

That's why I am hungry to be in the next one. I want that again, but I want to be playing this time." Maddison's chances of a more significant role at next summer's European Championship have surely improved since Qatar.

Over the summer, he left relegated Leicester for Tottenham in a £40million deal and has immediately cemented himself as a the heartbeat of Ange Postecoglou's revamped side, as well as being named the club's new vice-captain.

In four League games, he already has two goals and two assists for unbeaten. Spurs. "It's been easy for me to go [there] and be myself," Maddison said. "It's totoon a brilliant club and the supporters have made me feel so welcome and loved already. I still feel like they've got so much more to see of me.