Gallagher was one of the more surprising inclusions in the Three Lions squad heading to Qatar, named alongside club team-mates Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling, though Southgate indicated it was the midfielder’s attitude and energy that helped him stand out from the crowd.

‘He’s fantastic at pressing the ball,’ said the England manager at a press conference shortly after naming his squad.

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‘There are going to be moments in these games where we need certain attributes and we feel he could be that sort of player.

‘He’s not as experienced as some of the others but he has an impact in games and has a goal threat. When you look at midfielders you often ask, “do they stop goals, create goals or scores goals?” He does a lot of all of that.’

The 22-year-old, who joins his fellow Chelsea Academy graduate Mount at a first World Cup tournament, was also praised for the mentality he showed after being selected for the England Under-21s rather than the senior squad during the recent September window.

‘We were really pleased with how he responded to being left out of our squad and going with the Under-21s,’ continued Southgate.

‘He performed really well and his mentality was excellent. It was a great example, when you approach it that way, that there is always a route back with us and he has managed to achieve that straight away.’

Southgate also reflected on his tough decision to leave James out of the squad following the defender’s return from a knee injury progressing onto the grass this week.

James had posted on social media on Wednesday indicating that his World Cup dream was over despite ‘working harder than I ever thought I could’ to prove his fitness.

‘We had to make a very difficult call with Reece, who we think is a fantastic player,’ added Southgate. ‘He wasn’t going to be available, even if everything went perfectly, until the latter stages of the tournament and there were too many unknowns for us on that road to recovery.

‘I don’t think we can take a player who is not available for the group, that would be deemed arrogant in some circles. Even if everything went well and he was available and ready, we would be dropping him into a quarter-final after eight weeks out and that would be really demanding.

‘It was a tough call and Kyle [Walker, another right-sided defender] is a long way ahead of that.’

England’s group opener is against Iran on Monday 21 November. For the full rundown on which Chelsea players are going to the World Cup, click here.