The England team already has its 26 summoned to face its sixteenth World Cup. Manager Gareth Southgate made his roster selection official on Thursday and, as usual, there are points to be made and surprises worth highlighting. ‘The Three Lions’ share group B with the United States, Wales and Iran, with whom they will debut on Monday, November 21 at 10 a.m. (Argentine time) at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Unsurprisingly, almost 100% of the players come from the Premier League, with the exception of Jude Bellingham, a young star from Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. The main surprise on the list is the absence of defender Fikayo Tomori, a key player in Milan and one of the best central defenders in Serie A, who was never highly regarded by the English manager. Lastly, Newcastle’s Callum Wilson won the arm wrestling match against Rome’s Tammy Abraham and made the final roster at the last minute.

Reece James, a starter during the Qualifying and Nations League process (even ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold), was unable to recover in time from an injury to his right knee and ultimately will not participate in the World Cup. The footballer himself announced it on his social networks this Thursday, one day before the official announcement of the call. “Devastated,” the Chelsea right-back wrote on his Twitter account. A very important loss for the English. For his part, the one who was also running against the clock but finally makes up the list is Kyle Walker, from Manchester City.

England’s 26 squad for the World Cup

  • Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle) and Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).
  • Defenders: Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Connor Coady (Everton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben White (Arsenal) and Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
  • Midfielders: Declan Rice (West Ham United), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), James Maddison (Leicester) and Connor Gallagher (Chelsea).
  • Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle).

The most relevant data of the call for England

  • In addition to the three extra additions for this edition (there are 26 called up instead of the usual 23), Southgate made ten changes to the team that finished fourth at Russia 2018.
  • 13 of the 26 summoned will play their first World Cup. For his part, Sterling is the only one to have participated in two World Cups (three games in Brazil 2014 and six in Russia 2018).
  • 96.15% of those summoned play in the English Premier League. The only exception is Jude Bellingham, who plays for Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
  • Half of the teams in the English First Division contribute at least one footballer to the English team.
  • The recent champion of the local league, Manchester City, is the club that contributes the most footballers to England with five.

How did England qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup?

They qualified for the ecumenical competition undefeated in group I of the UEFA Qualifiers, with eight wins and two draws in a zone shared with Poland (qualified through playoffs), Albania, Hungary, Andorra and San Marino. It was the highest scoring team in all of Europe with 39 and the second least scored with three, only behind Switzerland and Italy (two each).

However, he arrives in Qatar with a ‘sporting failure’ behind him. They recently relegated to the second category of the Nations League, where they did not achieve any victory in zone A3 shared with Italy, Hungary and Germany. In said competition it was the team with the fewest goals in favor of the First Division with four in six games.

England’s guide to the World Cup

  • Captain: Harry Kane.
  • Figure: Harry Kane.
  • Possible scheme: 5-2-3.
  • Possible lineup: Jordan Pickford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham; Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Harry Kane.
  • Best historical position: Champion in 1966.
  • Promise: Jude Bellingham (19 years old). The youngest on the squad, although the best clubs in the world are already fighting for him. Everything seems to indicate that he will be the starter.

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