Gareth Southgate has officially announced his squad which will represent England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
After much deliberation, the Three Lions manager has named the 26 players called up to the showpiece event, in a bid to end England’s 56-year trophy drought. Having named a 55-strong provisional squad last month, Southgate has now trimmed down the group to the permitted 26 players.
Analysis on Southgate’s final squad, position by position:
– Goalkeepers
There are no real surprises as Southgate has selected the trio of Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, and Aaron Ramsdale for the World Cup in the Middle East.
Pickford, 28, played every minute at the 2018 World Cup as well as at Euro 2020, and this season the Everton keeper has made 55 saves, the second-most in the Premier League and 14 more than international teammate Pope.
No keeper in the English top flight has kept more shut-outs than Pope this term, the Newcastle goalie with six from 13 matches. The Magpies currently sit in 3rd place and they have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the league (11), with Pope producing 41 saves up until now.
Ramsdale also has six clean sheets to his name but he has mustered only 26 saves. With Arsenal top of the table, he has faced fewer shots than most other keepers and thus has made less than half the saves of Pickford.
Dean Henderson completed a summer loan move to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest in a bid to nail down a ticket to the World Cup, but to no avail for the Man United keeper who has not made the final squad.
– Full-backs
Southgate has selected a total nine defenders in his World Cup squad, although nothing is to say he wouldn’t have chosen more were it not for injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell. The Chelsea duo suffered respective knee and hamstring problems which has ruled both of them out of the fast-approaching World Cup.
Kyle Walker has been included despite overcoming a groin issue, with Southgate expecting the Man City man to regain full fitness towards the end of the group stage. Walker truly has been instrumental for Southgate, many a time featuring on the right of a back three which is not his preferred position.
Trent Alexander-Arnold received the nod after generally being overlooked by Southgate in the past. With an excellent passing range and a genuine threat from dead-ball situations, the Liverpool-born full-back could be of huge importance in the coming weeks – possibly even as an auxiliary midfielder.
Kieran Trippier was a mainstay for Southgate in Russia 2018 but not as much at Euro last year. Now acting as Newcastle’s regular skipper, he has been a revelation since his return to the Premier League in January and he is staking his claim for a spot in Southgate’s strongest XI. Although primarily a right-back, Trippier is more than capable of operating on the left-side of the defence.
With Chilwell sidelined, Man United’s Luke Shaw is the only out-and-out left-back selected by Southgate. Shaw was a force to be reckoned at Euro 2020 at Euro 2020, scoring inside the opening two minutes of the final at Wembley.
– Centre-backs
Southgate has strength in numbers in central defence, and those that have been left out are still good enough to go to the World Cup. Southgate has selected the quartet of Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, John Stones, and Ben White for the heart of the England defence.
White is primarily a central defender but he has mainly featured at right-back for Arsenal this term while Dier has shown promise in a back three for Tottenham under Antonio Conte. Stones previously played the vast majority at the 2018 World Cup and all but 21 minutes at Euro 2020, and the Man City defender recently returned from a hamstring lay-off.
Southgate has shown an unwavering loyalty towards Harry Maguire even though the Man United captain has started one league game since mid-August. Maguire’s selection comes at the expense of Fikayo Tomori, who has been making strides abroad with AC Milan.
Conor Coady is quite possibly Southgate’s fifth-choice centre-back but the Everton man adds a real presence and he will be a vital figure in and around the dressing room environment.
Tomori and Joe Gomez did not make the cut, with Southgate suggesting they need to do more to make the England squad.
Southgate on Maguire: “We’ve picked our more experience defenders and I think we at this moment in time, the younger ones have got some really good qualities but they haven’t quite done enough to push the more experiened ones out.” #mufc
— Tyrone Marshall (@TyMarshall_MEN) November 10, 2022
– Midfielders
The obvious and most important name to look for is Jude Bellingham. At 19 years of age, he is already one of the first names on the teamsheet. Bellingham has taken the German Bundesliga and greater Europe by storm, captaining Borussia Dortmund and scoring in four consecutive UEFA Champions League group games.
The ex-Birmingham City prodigy is one of, if not the most sought-after teenage prospects in the sport and he is bound for a Premier League heavyweight club in years to come. Already an established regular at his tender age and now on the verge of competing in his first World Cup, the world truly is Bellingham’s oyster.
Declan Rice is the ideal option to sit at the base of England’s midfield, just as he did last year at Euro. Jordan Henderson isn’t likely to play the majority of minutes at the tournament but the Liverpool skipper exudes heaps of experience and leadership skills which may prove key within the England camp.
Kalvin Phillips has been called up despite playing a solitary minute of PL football this term, due to shoulder surgery in September. At a press conference following the squad announcement, Southgate cited Phillips has been of huge importance to the national team.
Similarly to Rice, Phillips was crucial for England at Euro but now with Bellingham in the fold, the Man City man may find himself in more of a support role at the World Cup and beyond.
James Maddison, Mason Mount, and Conor Gallagher are all headed to Qatar, and it comes as a huge sigh of relief for the Leicester playmaker who has been his team’s star performer this season in particular. Maddison turns 24 during the tournament but he has earned just a single England cap, this month three years ago. His recall to the national set-up is richly deserved.
After being included in the provisional squad, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and James Ward-Prowse did not make the final cut.
Southgate on Maddison: “He’s playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country. We think he can give us something different to the other attacking players we’ve got. We decided a couple of weeks ago (that he’d be in).” #ENG
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) November 10, 2022
– Forwards
England’s greatest strength undeniably comes at the attacking end of the pitch, even though Southgate traditionally displays a cautious approach.
Harry Kane is set to lead the line for his country at a fourth major tournament and second World Cup. The England skipper won the Golden Boot with six goals in Russia 2018 and he is now within two of Wayne Rooney’s record 53 goals for the Three Lions. This season only Erling Haaland has scored more Premier League goals than Kane (11), who has also climbed into the top three PL goalscorers of all-time.
Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Phil Foden offer tons of quality in the wide areas and all three competitors have been in splendid form this campaign. The trio has registered a combined 14 goals and 11 assists in the 2022/23 Premier League and each of them are deserving of minutes in Qatar.
Callum Wilson earned a call-up amidst a purple patch with Newcastle. Southgate has selected the striker despite a reputation of regularly being struck down by injuries. Wilson has scored six goals in 10 league games.
Jack Grealish has kept hold of his place under Southgate despite a continued poor run of form with Man City. Grealish, 27, is scarce for Premier League minutes albeit even when playing, he does not produce attacking returns frequently enough. In fact, the £100m man has three direct goal involvements from 20 league matches in 2022.
Not to the extent of Grealish, but Raheem Sterling has also lacked an eye for goals recently. Since leaving Man City for Chelsea, the winger has scored five goals in 18 matches across the Premier League and Champions League. In Chelsea’s last UCL group game, Sterling found the net to snap a spell of nine games without a goal. No active England player has more caps than Sterling (79).
Tammy Abraham, Ivan Toney, Jarrod Bowen, Jadon Sancho, and Ollie Watkins were all snubbed of a seat on the plane to Qatar.
(Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Southgate has twice come agonisingly close to ending England’s wait for a major trophy, first reaching the semis at the 2018 World Cup before losing to Italy in the Euro final last year. An underwhelming outcome in Qatar could possibly mean the end of the 52-year-old’s time with the Three Lions.
England get their World Cup campaign underway against Iran on November 21, before they meet USA four days later and then fulfil their Group B obligations versus Wales on November 29.
The Round of 16 begins December 3 and quarter-finals six days later. The semis take place from the 13th with the final scheduled for December 18 at the Lusail Stadium.
According to Bet365, England are 9.00 to go all the way and win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Harry Kane is the pre-tournament favourite (8.00) to end as the top goal scorer.
