England World Cup 2022 Squad: Southgate's expected selection

England are preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which is set to kick off on November 20^th, when the host nation plays Ecuador, but which players will be included in Gareth Southgate’s squad?

The Three Lions are getting ready for the tournament, but which players are going to be on the plane to Qatar, and which are going to be left behind, watching on from their sofas?

The likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling, and Manchester City’s Phil Foden are almost certain to be heading to the Middle East for the tournament.

But players such as Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Leicester City’s James Maddison face an uphill battle to get into the squad, as they look to convince Southgate they can do a job.

There is an injury concern for Alexander-Arnold, too, along with Reece James at Chelsea, so there may be a few surprises in the manager’s selection for the tournament.

We’ve got everything you need to know about England’s World Cup squad ahead of the tournament.

When is England's World Cup squad announced?

DOHA, QATAR - APRIL 01: Gareth Southgate, Manager of England arrives prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final Draw at the Doha Exhibition Center on April 01, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The provisional squad, per reports, is set to be announced this week.

Southgate is capable of picking as many as 55 players in his provisional selection and one report from The Daily Telegraph has suggested that Eberechi Eze could be a beneficiary.

The final squad must be submitted to FIFA by November 14^th.

Who is in England's World Cup squad?

Harry Kane of England is congratulated by Phil Foden after scoring the second goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Semi-final match

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Harry Kane of England is congratulated by Phil Foden after scoring the second goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Semi-final match between England and Denmark at Wembley Stadium on July 07, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Nobody has yet been confirmed as being in the squad.

But Harry Kane is the England captain, and one can reasonably expect a fair few players to have already made their way into Southgate’s thinking.

The likes of Kane, Foden and Sterling are likely to be going, fitness permitting, although there are questions still over players such as Maddison, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Nottingham Forest’s Dean Henderson.

Jordan Pickford is the current No.1 but, again, his selection is likely to depend on fitness.

How many players can Gareth Southgate pick?

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Gareth Southgate, Manager of England interacts with Harry Maguire of England as Tammy Abraham (R) of England looks on during the UEFA Nations League League A Group 3 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium on September 26, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Southgate can select 26 players in his World Cup squad.

That number has increased by three from previous tournaments, allowing some degree of depth for each squad.

It will also make it all the more painful when players are left out of this squad!

Injury Doubts

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Kyle Walker of Manchester City receives medical attention during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium on October 02, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

England have a number of selection headaches ahead of the tournament.

There are players whose fitness is in real doubt, and who would usually be shoo-ins to go to the tournament.

As it stands, there are fitness questions over the following players:

Ben Godfrey - Everton - Calf injury
Kalvin Phillips - Manchester City - Shoulder injury
Kyle Walker - Manchester City - Groin injury

UPDATE 8th November 2022: Ben Chilwell has been ruled out of the tournament, per Sky Sports. As a result, we've picked Tottenham Hotspur's Ryan Sessegnon to replace him in our predicted squad.

UPDATE 9th November 2022: Reece James has confirmed that he will not be going to the tournament, posting a statement on his official Twitter account.

Predicted Squad

MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 23: Harry Maguire of England gives instructions to their side during the UEFA Nations League League A Group 3 match between Italy and England at San Siro on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

As Southgate prepares to name his squad, we've taken a stab at predicting the selection.

Now, we should say here that this is a prediction based on what we expect Southgate to do, rather than a prediction based on form, xG or any other factors.

That means Harry Maguire is in it. Sorry.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Ryan Sessegnon, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Eric Dier, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori.

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, James Maddison.

Attackers: Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Tammy Abraham, Ivan Toney.

Who was in England’s World Cup 2018 squad?

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 03: John Stones, ang3a and Harry Maguire of England celebrate victory during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Colombia and England at Spartak Stadium on July 3, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The 2018 World Cup saw England reach the semi-finals, only to lose to Croatia.

The full squad for that tournament is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Nick Pope.

Defenders: John Stones, Danny Rose, Gary Cahill, Kyle Walker, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Ashley Young, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eric Dier.

Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph.

Attackers: Danny Welbeck, Marcus Rashford, Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane.