England FIFA World Cup squad 2022: James Maddison and Marcus Rashford set to make headlines as decision time shows
England FIFA World Cup James Maddison, Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire will kind the headlines when Gareth Southgate names his World Cup group on Thursday – whether they’re included on the list or not. While I expect the Manchester United duo to both be assumed seats on the plane to Qatar. Football World Cup fans can England Vs USA Tickets from our website.
Southgate is still perspiring on a number of key players who are racing to get fit enough for selection. Kalvin Phillips, Reece James and Kyle Walker are in the centre of intensive rehabilitation computer operator, and also at the centre of an anxious wait.
With one full Premier League match rotund to go before England FIFA World Cup heads to Qatar, the list that Southgate names on Thursday could still be altered if there are last-minute injuries.
This will be the first World Cup where states are allowed to pick 26 players for the tournament, after new rules introduced by FIFA, and that gives the England FIFA World Cup boss slightly more wriggle room. Nations are allowed to make squad changes at any stage up to 24 hours before their first game – in England’s case, that means a final deadline of November 20.
It means Southgate can consider players whose strength not be fully fit as well as those who can be used as impact substitutes, overcoming some of the limits posed by traditional 23-man squads. Southgate is no fan of the better squads, though he did work with a 26-strong party for last summer’s Euros.
How many injured players will go to Qatar?
With a number of important England FIFA World Cup players improving from injury, a key question is – how many of those can Southgate danger including?
Former England FIFA World Cup managers Roy Hodgson and Sven Goran Eriksson have together told me that taking injured players to a major contest is fraught with problems and can be disruptive – there are painful reminiscences of Wayne Rooney and his broken metatarsals in 2006, and of the same injury that saying a semi-fit David Beckham go to Japan and South Korea in 2002.
The fact that this World Cup
The fact that this World Cup is exclusively mid-season – with no time for warm-up games and precious little training time before (and during) the contest itself – only adds to the problems for players who are nursing wounds.
Even if Walker is named in the squad, it’s likely he will have only a bit of part to play in the primary group games. Football World Cup fans can England Vs Wales Tickets from our website.
And so while Phillips, Walker and James were vital members of England’s run to the final of the Euros just 16 months ago, it’s unsure the England boss can include such a large number of unfit players in this squad. One or two strengths be able to manage their workload and build fitness throughout the tournament – three or four probably can’t.
There is a sense that the contest will come too soon for James. That will be devastating for the Chelsea man, who before his knee injury was perhaps England’s first-choice right-back. But there is no way Southgate can have two flabby right-backs in Qatar, and Walker, I’m told, is much further ahead in his salvage from groin surgery at the start of last month.
The same is true of Phillips, who was called England’s Player of the Year in September – just as he was undergoing bear surgery. He’s played less than 20 minutes of football all season and is being gently re-integrated hooked on the Manchester City team. Phillips’ involvement is touch and go. Even if he is fit, he is a long way from existence match fit.
Maddison the Maverick or Grealish the Guru
Perhaps the biggest selection discussion of all surrounds Maddison. His statistics are undeniable – 30 goal involvements since the start of the last period, three more than any other English player. His form is making him impossible to disregard, and the enlarged squad means he could yet be Southgate’s wild card assortment – that player with the X-factor, who England takes because he’s special.
England legend Gary Linaker says it would be a charade if the Leicester talisman was overlooked. But what has always dogged Maddison’s international participation is the system that Southgate plays and the number and quality of other aggressive options England possesses.
Southgate will have a specific number of original, attacking options he wants to take. Probably six or seven, as it remained for the Euros. So, with Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka guaranteed a spot – and Marcus Rashford also probable – is there space for Maddison too?
The England boss wants seven onwards
If the England boss wants seven onwards, then yes. If he wants sex, to use the additional body to cover a weakened defence, then no. And if England needs a goal in the additional half of a knockout game, will Southgate turn to Maddison the maverick fast of Grealish the guru? These are the tough queries the England boss will be asking himself.
Furthermore, Southgate is adamant in his stresses that every player must fit into the squad ethos, and for reasons, few can clarify, Maddison’s face doesn’t seem to fit. One England cap (against Montenegro three years ago) is quite frankly illegal, for a player of his quality.
Jadon Sancho has similarly hurt with the abundance of English attacking talent. His lack of game-time for Manchester United since mid-October since of illness reaffirms he is likely to miss out again.
Who will provide backup for Kane?
Who is the understudy to Harry Kane? That is the additional dilemma facing Southgate. Rashford has been playing regularly as Manchester United’s amount nine and has returned to form under Erik ten Hag. He would have been comprised in the September squad, had a minor injury not thwarted him. Football World Cup fans can England Football World Cup Tickets from our website.
I expect Rashford to be comprised in the World Cup squad. Doubts over England’s backup strikers, together with his versatility in live wide, make him a really strong candidate. In recent times, Tammy Abraham has remained Southgate’s go-to man, the first sub off the rank when Kane needs a rest. Especially, since Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s wound nightmare.
But Abraham didn’t play a miniature of football in the last international break, which leads to question marks over whether Southgate is persuaded he can rely on the Roma man. Remember, England was behind and racing the game against both Italy and Germany, but Abraham remained heating the bench.
The 25-year-old flourished last year below Jose Mourinho but he has struggled so far this season, with only three goals to his name. That has unlocked a window of opportunity for others, notably Callum Wilson and Ivan Toney, who may be fighting with each other for a place in the squad.
Neither is ideal from Southgate’s viewpoint. Whilst Toney was called up for the first time in September, he didn’t make his global debut, so to throw him straight into a World Cup would be a risk, despite his excellent form. He has though, counted six goals in his last eight Premier League matches.
Similarly, Wilson is on a vivid run for Newcastle
Similarly, Wilson is on a vivid run for Newcastle, with three goals in as many appearances. But he has not played for England for more than three years and I would be surprised if Wilson got the nod ahead of others.
The smart money is on Kane, Abraham and Rashford to make up the striking department. Southgate only had three strikers in his Euros squad, and with defensive frailties and injuries in other positions, I suspect he will want extra cover in those areas.
Full-back fitness – and will Alexander-Arnold be included? Fitness will be the key consideration in terms of who gets in and who misses out on this position. The injuries have probably killed the debate about whether Trent Alexander-Arnold should be on the plane or not.
Alexander-Arnold is almost certain to be included – even though his brilliance on the ball and his vulnerability defensively against Spurs on Super Sunday led Gary Neville to say that he poses a “real dilemma” for Southgate: “Some of his distribution is out of this world, but in a knockout game could he let you down?”
Alan Shearer says Kieran Tripper “has to start” for England, either at right-back or left-back. Luke Shaw is another shoo-in for the 26. Those two are probably England’s first-choice right and left-backs right now. Cherwell’s hamstring injury is a big blow for the player and for England. Likewise for Reece James.
Whether or not Walker can prove his fitness
Whether or not Walker can prove his fitness, there is still probably room for one more full-back in the squad. Ben White looks most likely to get the call, playing as well as he is for table-topping Arsenal, and adding the versatility of being able to play centre back too.
James Justin, Tyrick Mitchell, Ryan Sessegnon and Nico Henry will all have hopes of seeing their names on the FA website on Thursday, though most of them will be disappointed. It would also be a big call to include Newcastle’s Dan Burn, despite his good form. Football World Cup fans can Qatar World Cup Tickets from our website.
Southgate’s centre-back dilemma
Harry Maguire’s lack of involvement for Manchester United will not stop him being included in this squad. That is categorical, but his selection will still be hugely controversial. Eric Dier’s howler allowed Mohamed Salah to score. Liverpool’s second goal on Sunday will have worried the England boss, but he should keep his place.
Whether he should be selected to play is likely to be one of them. The dominant talking points in the build-up to England’s first game on November 21. Plenty of critics think Maguire should not be in England 26. Never mind in the starting 11 to face Iran – I expect Southgate to take the opposite view.
And so it comes down to how many central defenders Southgate wants at his disposal in Qatar. He had only four for the Euros but also had a fully-fit Kyle Walker. Who was regularly used in a back three? Maguire, John Stones, Conor Coady and Dire can all be confident of a call. But will there be a fifth centre-back? Does White offer enough centre-back cover, if included?
It’s telling that Southgate and his assistant. Steve Holland didn’t give Marc Guehi or Fikayo Tomori a single minute of game time. The Nations League matches in September. Many critics feel Tomori in particular offers vital pace in the England defence. But both will be nervously awaiting Thursday’s announcement, and both could miss out.
Limited midfield options
This is an area of the pitch where England has struggled for numbers for a long time. There were only five midfield names in the squad for the Euros, and Mason Mount was one of those. Even though he is used in a variety of positions by Southgate.
Mount, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham are the only definite, and much depends on Phillips’ inclusion or otherwise. James Ward-Prowse missed the final cut for the Euros. But may well be needed this time, even if Southgate takes a risk with Phillips. Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher may just miss out unless England’s coaches decide they simply need extra midfield bodies.
Pope to pip Henderson between the posts
England’s first-choice keeper is not in question – Jordan Pickford will get the number one shirt. Elsewhere, it’s two from three, with Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson in the mix. But he will make the squad, with probably Ramsdale rather than Henderson alongside him.
Nottingham Forest stopper Henderson is most likely to miss out, despite Pope fluffing his audition in Pickford’s absence this autumn. England’s coaches will have noticed with disappointment. The howler that led to Germany’s equaliser at Wembley, and Pope’s struggles with the distribution.
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