It is hard to understate the decline in national feeling behind England’s hopes in Qatar; from the universal sense of near certainty that they would be among the challengers, to serious reservations about Gareth Southgate’s approach.
The nadir came in June, when the Three Lions were humiliated by Hungary, 4-0 on home soil and a barrage of criticism from the stands that can only have left Southgate pondering how much longer he will be in this job. A defeat to Italy and a rescued draw with Germany later, England have been relegated to League B in the Nations League.
This is not the build-up anyone within the FA can have envisaged, but a more promising reading of the autumn is that Southgate has so many potential seat-fillers on the plane that he has been struggling to accommodate them all.
Making his job easier, at least on that count, is the number of potentially long-term injuries England have suffered, with his beloved right-backs largely on the scrapheap.
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James sustained a knee injury on Champions League duty with Chelsea against AC Milan. By degrees, the severity became more serious and the possibility emerged that the defender might miss not only a crucial run of games for his club, but also the winter tournament in Qatar.
When asked about James’ hopes of recovering in time, Graham Potter confirmed he was seeing a specialist but would not be drawn on whether he will be fit for England. “There is no point in looking into the Doomsday scenario yet,” Potter said. “We just need to make sure it’s OK and then go forward. He has been in fantastic form for us so fingers crossed we will wait for good news.”
Kyle Walker
Walker was the first England player whose injury put his World Cup in doubt, withdrawn during the Manchester derby with a groin injury.
Four days later, he underwent surgery but faces a race against time to get minutes under his belt – if he is able to return before the tournament kicks off at all.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
For Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury was compounded by the news that Luis Diaz will definitely be out until after the World Cup. As for Southgate, Alexander-Arnold may not be his preferred choice but he may well rely on him if James and Walker are unavailable.
The 24-year-old took a blow to the ankle during Liverpool’s Premier League loss against Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp admits the Reds have been “a little lucky” the setback was not more serious and now hopes he could be back between late October and early November.
“It is always difficult to say,” Klopp said. “Shorter than a month; two weeks I heard but we have to see if that’s right. That is the information I got, I am not sure if I am allowed to say this, to be honest! Because I thought it is longer when I saw him after the game. But I take the two weeks easily. We will see.”
Kalvin Phillips
Phillips has had a disrupted start to life at Manchester City and was told he would require surgery on a dislocated shoulder.
There is some promising news from Pep Guardiola, who said on 14 October that “Kalvin is getting better and is improving a lot”. Any real joy from England fans was short-lived, however, as he was hesitant when pressed on whether Phillips – and indeed Walker – will make the World Cup. “I don’t know” he responded.
Harry Maguire
Southgate has assured Maguire of his place in his plans despite the centre-back’s early season dropping by Erik ten Hag. The defender has been absent from Manchester United’s recent fixtures, picking up a thigh injury in England’s draw with Germany – but he is set to return to training as early as next week.
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