Hodgson defends Van Gaal over Lingard concerns
Louis van Gaal warned against an early England call-up for Jesse Lingard and Roy Hodgson admits he did not want to give him a place so soon.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/r6HtXYPRyMbXFqytdpUSZc-1000-80.jpg)
Roy Hodgson agrees with Louis van Gaal's concerns that Jesse Lingard's first England call-up may have come too soon.
Manchester United midfielder Lingard was handed a spot in the senior set-up for the first time after Jamie Vardy and Michael Carrick pulled out of the squad ahead of Tuesday's friendly with France due to injury.
United boss Van Gaal stated prior to the international break that an England call-up would be "too much too early" for the 22-year-old, who scored his first senior goal for his club in the 2-0 win over West Brom earlier this month.
Hodgson admits he would not have turned to the inexperienced Lingard were it not for England's injury problems but says Van Gaal was fine with the decision.
"I don't think he [Van Gaal] was wrong to say that," the England manager said.
"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have been considering Jesse Lingard at this time, even though he's a very interesting player. I can understand why he said that.
"But the situation has changed enormously. He [Van Gaal] gave his blessing without any problem whatsoever. It would be unfair pushing that back on him."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Hodgson says Lingard won a call-up ahead of Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
"We did consider him [Zaha], yes," he added.
"He came in a similar type of player. They're both wingers. We did consider him, but we decided on Jesse."
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 5: Arne Slot Manager of Liverpool congratulates Mohamed Salah of Liverpool after the 4-0 victory during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Anfield on November 5, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q3ie7X2vDDiU7X6C9HVRK7-840-80.jpg)
‘The pure simplicity of the way Slot has managed the squad is probably the biggest thing I could say about him. It’s not broken, so let’s get on with it’: Liverpool legend full of admiration for Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield
![CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 02: Wales captain Ryan Giggs shakes the hand of manager John Toshack after being substituted on his last International appearance for his country during the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifying Match between Wales and Czech Republic at the Millennium Stadium on June 2, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by (Stu Forster/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ooQ9oNmgvfUUG8TBUhn6BK-840-80.jpg)
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack