Gareth Southgate is poised to confirm the England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the tournament rapidly approaching.
With the tournament unceremoniously wedged into the middle of the season, there are just 11 days between the announcement and the Three Lions’ opening fixture against Iran.
It means the England manager will be anxiously watching the final round of Premier League fixtures, with the squad flying out to Doha on Tuesday.
What time is the England World Cup squad announced?
The England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be announced at 2pm on Thursday 10 November, so keep your eyes peeled on the national team’s social media accounts.
Following the announcement, Southgate will explain his choices to the gathered media at St George’s Park.
All 32 football associations are then required to submit their final squads to Fifa by Sunday 13 November, a week before the opening game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
As was the case at last summer’s European Championship, managers are allowed to pick a 26-player squad for the final tournament, up from 23 at the previous World Cup in Russia.
Prior to making their final selection, managers were able to name up 55 players in their preliminary squads or, to use Fifa’s jargon, “release lists”. If a player in the final 26 gets injured, they can be replaced by someone on the release list.
As is the case in most domestic leagues now, managers are able to make up to five substitutes per game which is partially why the squad size has been increased.
What can you expect for the England squad?
The rapid turnaround before the sideheads to Qatar means Southgate is unlikely to spring any major selection surprises, but some in-form players are pushing to return to the fold.
Marcus Rashford has not kicked a ball for England since missing his spot-kick in last year’s European Championship final penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy, with injury and poor form seeing him fall out of Southgate’s plans last term.
However, the 25-year-old has been in resurgent form since Erik ten Hag’s arrival at Manchester United and is a strong contender to be named in Thursday’s selection.
James Maddison’s fine form at Leicester has led to clamour for the attacking midfielder to be selected for the first time since winning his solitary cap in 2019, while striker Callum Wilson has caught the eye at Newcastle.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney was called up by England for the first time in September but did not make his debut, while a hamstring issue may well extinguish Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s faint hopes of a recall.
Southgate has already 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.
More on World Cup 2022
James hurt his knee against AC Milan on October 11 and the club predicted an eight-week absence, although the right-back posted on Twitter “the race against time is on… but we won’t give up”.
However, “devastated” James confirmed on Wednesday that he would not be in the 26-man squad after speaking to the England boss.
There appears to be more positive news about the availability of fellow right-back Kyle Walker, who has always been confident of winning his race to be fit for the World Cup after undergoing a groin operation early last month.
Kalvin Phillips – England’s 2020-21 player of the year – has been out even longer than his Manchester City team-mate, since undergoing shoulder surgery in September.
While he is nearing a return, Phillips’ lack of game-time is a concern heading into the World Cup, just as it is for England regular Harry Maguire.
The Manchester United captain started the first two matches of Ten Hag’s reign, but poor form and a subsequent enforced injury absence means he has only featured six further times at club level.
Additional reporting from Press Association
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