England World Cup 2022 squad: Who’s in and who’s out?
England
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Nick Pope (Newcastle).
Defenders: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Benjamin White (Arsenal), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Conor Coady (Everton, on loan from Wolves), Luke Shaw (Man Utd).
Midfielders: Declan Rice (West Ham), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Man City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Mason Mount (Chelsea).
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Man City), James Maddison (Leicester City).
Getty GOALKEEPERS
Everton’s Jordan Pickford is on the flight to Qatar as Gareth Southgate’s No.1 in goal for England.
Newcastle United’s Nick Pope and the impressive Aaron Ramsdale, who continues to impress at Arsenal, will be pushing to see some game time between the sticks in Qatar.
Getty DEFENDERS
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire have all received their fair share of criticism during the 2022-23 campaign, but the Liverpool and Manchester United stars have been given the nod.
Elsewhere, Chelsea defenders Reece James and Ben Chilwell have been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, but Kyle Walker of Manchester City is selected despite suffering physical issues of his own.
Kieran Trippier’s form at Newcastle, along with the absence of others, earns him a place on the plane, along with versatile Arsenal star Ben White.
Getty Images MIDFIELDERS
England have a young and talented midfield that includes Mason Mount, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, while Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is an experienced head that has always been a straightforward choice for the England boss.
Kalvin Phillips has only recently recovered from an injury and has not played much for Manchester City, but another hero from a memorable run to the Euro 2020 final makes another major tournament.
Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and in-form Leicester playmaker James Maddison are included ahead of the likes of Emith Smith Rowe and James Ward-Prowse.
Getty Images ATTACKERS
There were never any doubts about the places of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden in the 26-man squad.
Southgate had some thinking to do to, though, when it came to filling the remaining slots in attack.
Jack Grealish’s creativity down the flank will be required, while Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is back in favour after enduring a tough time in 2021-22.
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson is the man set to provide cover for Kane, with the likes of Tammy Abraham and Ivan Toney missing out.
STRONGEST XI
Jordan Pickford will be ready to lead from the back behind the defensive back-four of Luke Shaw, John Stones, Eric Dier and Kyle Walker.
Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham could form a solid double pivot behind the attacking trio of Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.
Harry Kane, who is only a few goals away from becoming England’s all-time top goalscorer, will lead the line.
England XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Dier, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Foden, Mount, Sterling; Kane
Getty NOTABLE ABSENTEES
There are always players who are expected to feature, but miss out due to tactical reasons, injuries or other unforeseen circumstances and the 2022 World Cup is no different.
Chelsea’s Reece James picked up a knee injury in his side’s Champions League encounter with Milan and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament in Qatar, with club team-mate Ben Chilwell suffering a hamstring problem that ended his World Cup dreams.
Jadon Sancho has missed the cut after finding form hard to come by at Manchester United, while Tammy Abraham has not done enough at Roma to land a striking berth.
Fikayo Tomori is another Englishman catching the eye in Italy, as a Serie A title winner with AC Milan, but there is no place for him in Southgate’s plans.
Dean Henderson left Manchester United for a loan spell at Nottingham Forest in the hope of earning himself a World Cup spot, but the confident goalkeeper has been left disappointed, while Tyrone Mings, Marc Guehi, Emile Smith Rowe, James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins are among the others to have missed the call they were hoping for.