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Chris Smalling says he and Gareth Southgate have not spoken about World Cup spot

Chris Smalling celebrates giving Manchester United the lead for the first time
Image: Chris Smalling has scored three goals in his last nine appearances

Chris Smalling admits he has not spoken to Gareth Southgate about being selected in his England squad for the World Cup, but says he will let his football do the talking.

The Manchester United centre-back, alongside compatriot Phil Jones, played a vital role in Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham at Wembley.

Jones is all-but-certain of his place on the plane to Russia but Smalling has played only twice under Southgate - who has omitted the 28-year-old from recent squads as he believes he has better options as ball-playing centre-backs.

"All I can do is play the games and at the minute I'm playing every game and performing in big games so I'll just keep doing my job," he said when asked about a potential England recall.

"Of course you want to be playing in the summer. All you can do is let your football do the talking.

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"I think I've been a mainstay in the set-up for quite a while now and I just want to finish the season as strongly as I can and see what happens. At the minute there are no conversations and I'm going to keep playing my games."

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