England hopes to continue its ascent as they travel to Qatar for the World Cup after making it to the 2018 World Cup semifinal and the 2020 Euro final last summer.
Even though Gareth Southgate’s team entered the winter showpiece as one of the pre-tournament favorites, they are in terrible shape. The manager even acknowledged that a poor performance here might mean the end of his tenure as manager.
However, Southgate has won over fans in the past thanks to his ability to take England far into tournaments, and the Three Lions can anticipate another protracted run this winter as they try to finally win a major trophy.
England confirmed squad for the World Cup
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Harry Maguire, Ben White, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice
Forwards: Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, Callum Wilson, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling
Reece James, a defender for Chelsea, was injured in his knee and was unable to recover in time to make the team, which is a major setback for Southgate after losing another Blues full-back, Ben Chilwell, to an injury to his hamstring.
Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips of Manchester City have not yet been officially ruled out, but since neither player has fully recovered from an injury, Southgate faces some difficult choices.
Players to watch
Raheem Sterling
Although Raheem Sterling has had inconsistent play at the club level, his record on the global stage is undeniable. He scored three goals to get his team to the Euro 2020 final and ranks among Southgate’s top goal scorers.
Harry Kane
In order to surpass Bobby Moore as the leading scorer for the England national squad, Harry Kane requires just 3 more goals, and he believes he can achieve them during the World Cup. One of the best in the world at his position is the Tottenham striker.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham has made it look simple to develop into one of the top midfielders in the game at the age of just 19. He has been Southgate’s almost constant starter going into the tournament, and for good reason.
Phil Foden
If England is to win this match, Southgate will need to make the most of Phil Foden. One of the Premier League’s most dangerous forwards, the Manchester City player has been quietly racking up assists for England leading up to the competition.
The Three Lions won their 2 friendlies back in March, but after six games of 3 draws and 3 losses—including humiliating losses to Hungary and Italy—they were demoted from the top tier of the Nations League. However, England did end their disappointing campaign on a high note with a thrilling turnaround draw against Germany that demonstrated their true potential when everything goes their way.
Even with their lacklustre performance, England will still expect to advance past the group stage and really ought to be winning Group B by then, when things start to get interesting. The Netherlands or Senegal could be the opponent in the round of 16 for this team. The latter, which England will anticipate winning, will occur if everything goes according to plan.
If all of France’s players were healthy, it would be expected that they would face England in the quarterfinal; however, Didier Deschamps’ midfield has been compromised by injuries, and despite having Kylian Mbappe in their ranks, they could struggle and finish last in their group. The only remaining opponent at that point is Denmark, which is winnable but ought to be a bridge too far in the semifinals.
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