GARETH Southgate felt James Ward-Prowse was “just behind” the likes of Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson – as the Saints skipper was left out of England’s World Cup squad.

Ward-Prowse was not named in the 26-man group for this winter’s tournament in Qatar.

It was the second major tournament he was not selected for, after also being omitted for the European Championship in 2021.

He is set to go into Saints’ clash with Liverpool on Saturday (3pm), before then not being back in competitive action until late December with his club, due to the tournament.

READ MORE: James Ward-Prowse on World Cup hopes

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Asked about the decision not to select Ward-Prowse, Southgate said: “With James, he is really competing profile-wise with Bellingham and Henderson, maybe to a lesser degree (Conor) Gallagher.

“I don’t see him in the same profile at (Declan) Rice or (Kalvin) Phillips, they are different types of players.

“He is just behind those guys, frankly. It’s as simple as that.

“Now, we have still got another round of games to get through. I have spoken with a few of the players that things can still change over the weekend.”

Ward-Prows has not missed a minute of action in the Premier League for Saints this season.

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