Lewis Hall responds to World Cup disappointment with strong Newcastle start

Lewis Hall has opened up on missing England’s World Cup squad, admitting he hadn’t expected to be left out after his performances for Newcastle last season.

“I wasn’t necessarily expecting it, if I’m being completely honest,” he said in comments published on Sunday night.

Hall described himself as “gutted” by the decision, but after taking a couple of weeks to process it, he spent the tournament watching with his mates and supporting his current and former Newcastle teammates.

Since then, his focus has been on getting back into the squad. He spoke about using the omission as “extra motivation”, with a place at Euro 2028 now the longer-term target.

Friday’s recall was a step in that direction, and he followed it with another impressive display for Newcastle.

A first St James’ Park goal against Hull

Hall was superb again in Saturday’s 2-1 win, marking the occasion with his first ever goal at St James’ Park.

After combining with Harvey Barnes, he finished confidently across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner to put Newcastle two up inside seven minutes.

He contributed plenty to our attacking play in the first half and remained composed when Hull put us under pressure after the break. It was a performance that earned him the highest mark in our player ratings.

The goal also means he has already matched his Premier League attacking return from last season: one goal and one assist in five appearances, compared with the same totals across 30 games in 2025/26.

With a new contract agreed and his England place restored, Hall heads into the international break having made a strong start under Matthias Jaissle.

Hall had already made his case for England

For me, Hall was the best left-back in the Premier League last season. He would have been my first choice throughout the World Cup, which made leaving him out of the squad altogether very difficult to understand.

His performance against Barcelona at St James’ Park was the clearest example of what he could offer against top opposition. He kept Lamine Yamal as quiet in open play as I can remember any full-back managing, while still giving Newcastle an attacking outlet.

That combination is what makes him such a good player. He can defend against an outstanding winger without spending the entire game retreating, and he has the technical quality to help his team play through pressure.

The encouraging part this season is the extra end product. Goals and assists were an obvious area for improvement, and Saturday showed just how much the 22 year old can offer in that department.

Hall has responded well to the summer disappointment. Now he deserves a proper opportunity to establish himself for England.