Chris Smalling's wife posts defiant message after AS Roma defender left out of England squad

Chris Smalling's wife has reacted to the exclusion of the AS Roma defender in Garth Southgate's 26-man England squad for the World Cup.

Smalling's other half, Sam, took exception to her husband's England snub, posting a defiant message on social media.

She shared Opta's findings on Instagram, accompanied with the caption: "The highest performing English central defender in Europe this season."

She added: "Couldn't be more proud."

Smalling, who has 31 international caps to his name, hasn't played for his country since 2017.

He's not the only Serie A-based English defender to have missed out on a place in Southgate's World Cup squad.

AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori was also omitted from the squad despite the player winning the Scudetto last season.

The Three Lions boss was asked about his decision to leave Smalling and Tomori behind during the press conference where he unveiled his squad.

"We’ve picked our more experienced defenders," he said.

"The younger ones have good qualities, but we don’t think they’ve quite done enough to push the experienced ones out.

"Maguire? He is one of our best central defenders, even though we have many players who are playing at the level required to be part of the English national team."

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