Lewis Hall’s fine form for Newcastle United has not been enough to convince former England coach Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink he is worthy of a starting spot for England.
Though the defender had recently dropped out of the Newcastle United team until Sunday’s draw with Nottingham Forest, there’s little doubt that Hall has established himself as one of the best left-backs in Europe.
Still, Hall remains a relative fringe player for England, and is locked in a battle for a starting berth with Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly.
Hasselbaink, however, believes Luke Shaw should still start ahead of them at the World Cup.
Hasselbaink picks Shaw over Hall in England debate
The Dutchman worked alongside Gareth Southgate during England’s run to the Euro 2024 final, so will have watched Shaw very closely indeed.
When asked by talkSPORT to select his starting eleven for England’s World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas, Hasselbaink said: “Luke Shaw.”
Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Dan Burn were also overlooked.
Shaw has been one of England’s most important players during one of the more memorable eras in the history of the national team.
The Manchester United defender, however, hasn’t played for his country since the Euro 2024 final defeat and he has so far been overlooked by Thomas Tuchel.
Shaw’s time as an England player does feel as if it has come to an end. Wherever one stands on the Hall-O’Reilly debate, selecting Shaw over them at this stage of his career feels like a strange call indeed.
Hall is desperate to play in the World Cup, as one would expect. Speaking at an England press conference back in March, he said: “I’m really looking forward to showing what I can do and showing hopefully that I’m good enough to be part of the squad.”
Also able to operate at right-back, Hall does seem likely to at least be included in the squad. Given what he’s done this season, however, he surely deserves to start over Shaw.