Qatar World Cup: 'The England XI that will win it all' was predicted in 2013
The draw for the 2022 World Cup finals takes place on April 1.
Regardless of who England are drawn to face in their group, they will go into the tournament as one of the favourites.
The Three Lions reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 before suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the Euro 2020 final.
They will be looking to go one better in Qatar and they have the squad needed to win it all.
Back in 2013, Simon Rice of the Independent made the bold prediction that England will emerge victorious in Qatar.
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Rice then predicted the 11 players that will lead England to glory in the tournament.
Nine years have passed since Rice’s prediction and, with the World Cup occurring later this year, we’ve decided to revisit the XI he picked. It hasn’t aged well at all…
GK: Jack Butland
In 2013, a 20-year-old Butland had just made the £3.5 million move from Birmingham to Stoke City.
He initially showed promise with the Potters but failed to kick on. He’s now Crystal Palace’s back-up goalkeeper and has just nine England caps to his name.
LB: Luke Shaw
This is the best prediction of the lot. Despite a poor 2021/22 campaign, Shaw is almost guaranteed to be on the plane and will be fighting over the left-back spot with Ben Chilwell.
CB: Nathaniel Chalobah
Chalobah now plays for Fulham in the Championship. He’s a one-cap-wonder, having played his only game for England against Spain in 2018.
His younger brother, Trevoh, has a much greater chance of making England’s World Cup squad.
CB: Phil Jones
Jones is still at Manchester United but very rarely plays. A series of injuries means he’s only played 10 games for the club in the last three seasons.
He has 27 England caps to his name – the most recent of which came in 2018.
RB: Chris Smalling
There’s so much competition for the right-back berth, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Reece James all top-class players. Smalling is playing at a high level for Roma but will definitely not be starting for England at right-back later this year.
LM: Wilfried Zaha
Zaha is a very talented player but he changed allegiances to Ivory Coast in 2017. He made two appearances for England between 2012-2013.
CM: Ross Barkley
Barkley has played a grand total of 150 minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League this season. Barring a miraculous turn of events, he won’t be on the plane to Qatar.
CM:Jack Wilshere
“There’s no doubt Jack Wilshere will be leading the team.” That’s what was written about Wilshere in 2013.
His last England appearance came in 2016. He now plays for Danish side, AGF.
RM: Jordon Ibe
In 2013, Ibe was trying to make a name for himself at Liverpool. But he never reached his potential and now plays in the Turkish second tier with Adanaspor.
ST: Chuba Akpom
Akpom was a very brave shout because, back in 2013, he had never even made an appearance for Arsenal.
Now 26, he currently turns out for Greek outfit PAOK and has never played for England.
ST: Daniel Sturridge
In fairness, Sturridge was a very, very good striker but injuries have plagued his career.
He now plays for Australian side, Perth Glory, where his injury woes have continued.
Manager: Gary Neville
Neville vowed to never manage again after a disastrous spell with Valencia in the 2015/16 season. That stint lasted just four months and 28 games.