The BEST 23-Man England World Cup Squad

Welcome back to my blog! In this post I will be taking a look at England's 23-man-squad options ahead of the upcoming World Cup. I do not agree with its placement in Qatar, as many human rights issues have come into play, and while I think there should be an attempt made to stop people from travelling to Qatar it is still something I will watch from home even if I am angry at the death and discrimination leading up to the tournament. With that said, let's go straight into the list.

Goalkeepers

With Aaron Ramsdale excelling for Arsenal and Jordan Pickford's Everton in a relegation dogfight, the competition for England's number one jersey has intensified. My shortlist was narrowed down to the following: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale and Fraser Forster. I elected to chose 3 of the four, because 2 seemed a terrible risk and 4 a slight bit unnecessary. 

Forster just misses out here for a few reasons. At age 34, he is the oldest option of the bunch and with only 6 senior caps to his name I don't really see a good reason for him to be developed into a more experienced international player. While he is on form, he is only really performing better than Jordan Pickford, with Nick Pope being his usual dependable self and Aaron Ramsdale being one of the most in-form players in the world.

Third choice is Pickford. I'm sorry, Graham Southgate, but just because he has been ok for you cannot erase the fact that he has been pretty average for Everton. Starting for your national team should be based on merit, and while Pickford should definitely go to the competition he should not be starting ahead of Ramsdale or Pope.

Second choice is Pope, although I do argue that he should play certain matches ahead of Ramsdale due to his actual ability keeping the ball out the net. I have long been an admirer of Nick Pope and have been calling for him to be England's starter for a while now. I give him better odds for number one than most, and I think if England did revert to a back four he might be a better choice just because they might be a bit leakier, what with being used to three center-backs.

Starting in goal is Aaron Ramsdale. As a goalkeeper he is a lot like Pickford, in that he is good with saves and distribution. However, he has a lot more time to improve still ahead of him, and most notably he is a better leader, crowd-pleaser and personality in general which are important qualities to have. Especially with England being a good team with a back five, meaning he won't be called upon to be completely solid in nets, I think he is the right choice.

Wing-Backs

It is no secret that England have a pleather of options when it comes to wing back, especially on the right, and it is for this reason I am dedicating an entire section to these two roles. My shortlist included: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tariq Lamptey, Kyle Walker-Peters, Tyrick Mitchell, Ben Chillwell and Luke Shaw and one or two others, and with there only being two wing-back positions I felt obliged not to waste spots and to have only four squad places, although I must say I almost went with five. 

There were two shoo-ins in my eyes, namely Trent and Reece James. Both have been playing immensely well for their clubs and are arguably the two best right-backs in the world, they picked themselves. I also elected Ben Chillwell, as we need a left back and to be frank Luke Shaw has been terrible this season. I will go over the other contenders for the spot now.

Firstly, Mitchell and Lamptey didn't make it because neither is experienced enough to deputize at left-back, and there is no need for another defender out on the right. Both are extremely talented and I wouldn't be surprised to see either selected if Southgate takes five or six wing-backs, if only to get experience.

Wan-Bissaka was my 24th man, and I only removed him at the last second to make space for an extra attacker. While you can be pretty much certain he will not be at the tournament, in an ideal world he'd be given a fair shout. Man United's underwhelming season also didn't help his cause here, but I do think he would do an amazing job as right center-back in a back five, perhaps even better than wide on the right, so he came very close.

It is down to Kyle Walker and Kyle Walker-Peters, and to cut the suspense I picked the latter. Before you break your screen, please here me out. Walker is not as good as Trent or James going forward, so his starting position would likely be at right center-back, and what is the point when you can just pick a center-back or maybe Wan-Bissaka. Walker-Peters, like Walker, is versatile and can play on the left. He is a younger option, but even still is a lot less error-prone and a lot more level-headed. Watching Walker at right-back you get the feeling he could break and get a red at any moment, and at center-back the consequences if he did would be even more dire. So my picks are Trent and Chillwell as starters with James and Walker-Peters on the bench.

Center-Back

England's situation here is weird. They have a whole bunch of very good center-backs without having one really world-class one. My short-list was: Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Conor Coady, Fikayo Tomori, Michael Keane, Ben White, Marc Guehi, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. They are all vying for 5 center-back positions.

I did not select Everton's Michael Keane nor either of Villa's options, Mings and Konsa. Keane, like Pickford, has been part of the Everton meltdown, but unlike Pickford he has no England experience and really needed a good season to make the squad. Mings is pretty overrated in my eyes, and I actually see Konsa as the better player with a much higher ceiling. However, neither could make it unfortunately.

Neither Dier nor Maguire made it either. Maguire has had one of the worst individual seasons I have ever seen, and simply cannot make it. Dier is just not good enough. He could be up there, but has really never broken out of being quite good and become very good. He is a top-half Premier League player, but he's not Champions League level which is what you need at a World Cup.

That leaves White and Stones as obvious picks, Tomori as someone who has frequently been robbed of playing for England and a should-be starter. Coady has been consistently good, and Wolves' clean sheet record speaks volumes of the player he is. Guehi is a young and exciting star who is really one for the future, but I see him as good enough to get on the plane. I would start White, Tomori and Coady out of the five.

Midfield

Midfield is also an area in which England has a lot of good players, and I picked Jordan Henderson,  Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and James Ward-Prowse. Honestly, I had a few others but barring possibly Harvey Elliot there wasn't really competition. Gallagher's been good, but not good enough, and Kalvin Phillips needs to recover from injury before being considered. Jacob Ramsey lacks experience and England don't play with a very advanced midfielder, with a number 8 role being the furthest forward.

Henderson is the obvious leader of the five, and I always think England play better with him in the team. Declan Rice is having the season of his life, and can play defensively or centrally. I do sometimes think he's a tad overhyped, but he has been amazing and should definitely start some games at least. Mount has been amazing for the past few years now, and he is integral in Chelsea's success.

Bellingham is an amazing youngster with heaps of potential, and even now he is an accomplished player who has secured his spot in the England squad. Finally, Ward-Prowse is good in defensive, central and a box-to-box midfield role, and he is currently the best free-kick taker in world football, which definitely warrants some playing time as a super-sub. Unfortunately with Southgate's back five only 2 can start, and I think the best in Mount and then either one of Henderson and Rice, swapping around based on opposition.

Forwards

England have a whole pleather of forward options to chose from, and my forward shortlist includes: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Tammy Abraham and Jarrod Bowen amongst others. With so many good options, I picked six forwards and it must be understood that some are unlucky to miss out. 

My first two big omissions were Rashford and Sancho. Again, United have had a disastrous season and Rashford seems severely burnt out. He has simply not performed to a level he usually performs to. Sancho was a bit easier to leave out, as his move to United has been extremely underwhelming. He hasn't played with that hunger England needs.

Jack Grealish misses out, as about the twelfth best England forward. I knew people wouldn't be happy if I didn't mention him, but he's a flop. He was good at Villa, but not 100 million good, and it has shown at City where Sterling, Mahrez, Foden, Silva and even Jesus have outclassed him by a mile. He is not good enough to play for England when compared to the other forward and midfield options, and that is the truth of it.

That leaves us with Kane, Sterling and Saka starting, with Abraham, Foden and Bowen on the bench. All have been consistently brilliant this season and you can hardly have Tomori as the only non-Premier League player. Kane and Sterling have never failed at club or international level, Saka and Bowen are the best players at clubs fighting for the Champions League and Foden and Abraham are hungry and brilliant youngsters who deserve their place

Final Squad:

Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, Jordan Pickford

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Ben Chillwell, Kyle Walker-Peters

Ben White, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi

Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, James Ward-Prowse, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham

Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Tammy Abraham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jarrod Bowen

Starting Eleven (5-2-3): Ramsdale, Alexander-Arnold, White, Tomori, Coady, Chillwell, Henderson, Mount, Saka, Kane, Sterling.

Looking at the squad, I have my doubts about whether the likes of Walker-Peters, Tomori, Ward-Prowse, Bowen and one or two others will go, but I do have my hopes that certain players like Maguire and Shaw might not go. Please remember to comment your squads in the comments below and I hope to post again soon!