Gareth Southgate Reveals Two Players Rejected England Call-Up

Gareth Southgate has revealed two players refused call-ups to the national team in the early days of his England tenure.

Southgate was the Three Lions boss between 2016 and 2024, having been installed in the role as Sam Allardyce's successor.

Southgate had previously been in charge of England under-21s and also Middlesbrough between 2006 and 2009.

During his playing career, Southgate played for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and latterly Boro, while he also scored twice in 57 caps for England between 1995 and 2004.

Southgate took charge of England across four tournaments, with his first being the 2018 World Cup where the Three Lions reached the semi-final stage but exited at the hands of Croatia.

Former England boss Sir Gareth Southgate. (Image: Getty)

At the 2022 World Cup held over the winter in Qatar, England were beaten at the quarter-final stage by France.

Southgate did lead England to successive finals at the European Championships, the first of which was the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 which took place in the summer of 2021.

England lost to Italy on 3-2 penalties at Wembley following a 1-1 draw.

And in the summer of 2024, the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Spain, which would prove to be Southgate's final game in charge of England as he resigned from the role two days after the defeat after taking charge of 102 matches.

Sir Gareth Southgate. (Image: Getty)

The 55-year-old has not taken another job in football since leaving the England job last year, and was knighted as part of the 2025 New Year Honours.

Following his time in charge of the Three Lions, Southgate has written a book entitled Dear England: Lessons in Leadership which was published earlier this month.

Reflecting on his early days in charge of England, having been installed temporarily initially after Allardyce's resignation, Southgate has revealed in the book that two players turned down call-ups for the national team.

Southgate's Wayne Rooney revelation

Though Southgate did not name the duo in question or explain any reasons why the call-ups were refused, he writes in the book that he found this to be 'quite an eye-opener'.

The former England boss also described an incident where Wayne Rooney was spotted at a wedding party which took place at the same hotel the team was staying in, which he believes 'shone a light on standards and behaviour' at the time within the Three Lions set-up.

He wrote: "The incident shone a light on standards and behaviour, particularly among FA staff who, instead of protecting Wayne, joined him at the bar for drinks.

"'Wedding-gate' also crystallised what I’d felt across the four caretaker games: the set-up wasn't sharp enough.

"The spirit was fine; the standards weren't.

"My job would be to make England absolutely matter again… With no weddings in between."