England announces world cup squad, with Lallana, Tammy Abraham, Dominic Solanke and others notably absent.
Manager Southgate revealed his 23-man squad on Wednesday afternoon, with Adam Lallana, who is on the standby list, the big-name omission.
But Southgate believes, with the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, his young England squad offers plenty of encouragement.
“I believe this is a squad which we can be excited about,” said Southgate. “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.
“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.”
