Gareth Southgate has revealed England's final 26-man World Cup squad after deliberating over the form and fitness of his key players heading to Qatar.
The likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Pickford and Declan Rice are all named in the squad after featuring heavily for club and country in the buildup to the competition.
While there continues to be concerns over the lack of club playing time for England regulars Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips, despite the pair both being named in the squad.
Arsenal's Ben White, Newcastle's Callum Wilson and James Maddison of Leicester have all made the cut after impressing for their clubs in recent months.
Gareth Southgate is to name his 26-man squad for the Qatar World Cup
Nick Potts
Maddison’s only England cap came as a substitute against Montenegro in November 2019 – the last squad four-cap Wilson was involved in.
Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher is a surprise inclusion, while Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of four players selected who can play at right back.
There is a recall for rejuvenated Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, whose last cap came in the Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.
While there is no space in Southgate’s Qatar selection for Roma striker Tammy Abraham, Brentford's Ivan Toney or West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen.
Callum Wilson has been named in the 26-man squad
Nick Potts
James Maddison also made the squad
Nick Potts
Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori and Tyrone Mings are among the defenders to have missed out, while James Ward-Prowse again just missed out on a major tournament squad.
The England boss had seen two Chelsea full-backs ruled out of the tournament through injury, with left-back Ben Chilwell’s hamstring issue compounding Reece James’ unfortunate injury.
He hurt his knee against AC Milan on October 11 and “devastated” James confirmed on Wednesday that he would not be in the 26-man squad flying to the Gulf after speaking to manager Southgate.
FIFA’s deadline for final confirmation of the squad is Monday and Southgate will be sweating watching the final round of Premier League fixtures play out this weekend, hoping that no one picks up any further injuries.
England kick off their Group B campaign against Iran on November 21, just 11 days from now.
The Three Lions will also take on Wales and the USA in what should be a relatively straightforward group stage.
England World Cup squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice
Forwards: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson
