England goalkeeper Jack Butland has admitted that he and his teammates were shocked by Gareth Southgate‘s “gutsy decision” to leave Joe Hart out of the World Cup squad.
Hart was the highest-profile omission from the 23-man group that will travel to Russia next month, as the trio of Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope were instead preferred.
Butland is now in strong contention to start England’s opener against Tunisia on June 18, but he says that he is “gutted” long-serving number one Hart will not be with the Three Lions in Russia.
“We all thought, ‘Wow’. It was a gutsy decision from the manager,” he told reporters. “I’ve spoken to Joe. I know he’s devastated to miss out. I texted him once the squad had been announced and said ‘I’m absolutely gutted for you’.
“He’s been my hero since I was 14 years old and I still look up to him. It was important for me to tell him that because you don’t often get opportunities to tell people what you really think about them.
“When I was coming through at Birmingham – him as a goalkeeper, him as a person, I admired him. I wanted to be where he was, I wanted to be the No 1 for Birmingham and the No 1 for England and he was all those things. As we’ve got older, certainly the last couple of years, I’ve seen and learned more from Joe than I ever could have thought.
“What he’s been through and the humility that he’s dealt with things… despite everything that’s gone on. He’s always been the first one to congratulate whoever’s played. That shows more about Joe as a person and character than any of the saves or great performances he’s had throughout his career.”
Butland has been capped seven times by England at senior level, most recently in the 1-1 draw with Italy two months ago.