MY ACCOUNT
England manager Gareth Southgate has named his 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
There were a number of significant inclusions, with Leicester playmaker James Maddison and Newcastle forward Callum Wilson handed a return to international duty, while West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Brentford’s Ivan Toney were among those left out.
Read on as we provide a comprehensive round-up of all the key facts and figures.
Goalkeepers
Southgate has plenty of strength and depth between the sticks, with Jordan Pickford his No1 keeper.
Everton’s stopper has saved 80% of the shots on target that he has faced in the Premier League this season — his best rate in a single campaign in the competition.
Newcastle’s Nick Pope meanwhile has kept six clean sheets in the English top flight this term — tied with fellow Three Lions call-up Aaron Ramsdale and Manchester City’s Ederson.
Since the start of last season, Ramsdale has had more shutouts than any other English goalkeeper in the division (18).
Defenders
England were left with a number of problems in defence due to injuries to Chelsea full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
The absence of the Blues duo may explain why Southgate has taken a gamble on Kyle Walker, who is mounting a recovery from a groin problem.
City defender Walker is one of just three players to make 50 or more England appearances under Southgate, along with Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
Southgate will also be reliant on the experience of Kieran Trippier who is enjoying a superb campaign with Newcastle — he has created more goalscoring chances (32) and more big chances (seven) in the Premier League this season than any other Englishman.
And the Three Lions boss will also lean on the goalscoring prowess of Harry Maguire. Only Kane (12) struck more times during England’s World Cup qualifying campaign than the Manchester United centre-back.
Midfielders
Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham is the youngest member of the squad, but has been in scintillating form for the Bundesliga outfit.
The 19-year-old has scored four goals in five appearances in the Champions League this season, the most ever by an English teenager in a single season in the competition.
At the other end of the scale, only Walker is aged older than Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson, 32.
Henderson has made more Premier League appearances than any other player in England’s World Cup squad, with the Reds midfielder playing 408 times in the English top flight.
Forwards
Leicester maestro Maddison earned his place despite only making one England appearance, all the way back in November 2019.
But you cannot argue with the Foxes ace’s numbers — since the start of last season he has been directly involved in 30 top-flight goals (18 goals, 12 assists). Only Kane (38) has more among English players in this period.
Magpies No9 Wilson edged out the likes of Toney and Tammy Abraham to seal a spot as Kane’s back-up, thanks in large part to his clinical finishing.
Since joining the Toon Army ahead of the 2020-21 season, the 30-year-old has the highest shot conversion rate in the Premier League of any player to have scored 20 or more goals in this period (23%).
Despite Wilson and Maddison’s lack of international experience, Southgate has assembled a talented squad that has a combined 820 caps between them.
Only Fabio Capello’s 2010 World Cup squad (821) has more total caps since England’s debut in the tournament in 1950.
