Chris Smalling says he was surprised to be omitted from World Cup squad despite Gareth Southgate’s complimentary phone call

Manchester United centre-back Chris Smalling missed out on the Three Lions World Cup squad last summer, and he still can’t understand why he wasn’t on that plane to Russia.

The 29-year-old was a regular part of England’s World Cup qualifying campaign, winning his 31st cap in November 2017 against Germany.

However, after an injury ruled him out of the next game, manager Gareth Southgate refused to include him in subsequent squads and the final squad for the summer competition, citing his inability to play out from the back as a reason.

Smalling is still at loss over the sudden axe, though, as the manager had called to compliment him on the phone just weeks after his last cap.