Qatar 2022: England release their highly-anticipated World Cup squad

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By Martin Graham | 12th Nov 2022

On Thursday, 10th of November, England coach Gareth Southgate named his 26-man squad that will be traveling to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The announcement of the England squad was made at 2pm after weeks of speculation about who would be in the squad and who will miss out.

There was mixed reaction among supporters after the World Cup squad was announced with in-form players like Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse missing out of selection while Leicester City’s James Madison, Arsenal defender Ben White and Newcastle’s Callum Wilson were able to force their way into the England squad due to their impressive form. Other players like Ivan Toney of Brentford, Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings, Italian Champions AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen also were not selected.

A surprise inclusion to the England team squad was Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher. The midfielder had impressed Gareth Southgate with his mentality and the Three Lions coach believes he will be good enough to make an impact for his country in Qatar.

“He’s fantastic at pressing the ball. He’s not as experienced with us as other, but he has an impact on games and a goal threat,” Southgate said.

“We were really pleased with the way he responded to being left out of our squad [earlier in the season], his mentality was excellent. If you approach it in that way, there’s always a way back.”

Reece James was not selected for the tournament either due to his injury and recovery time. When asked about the Chelsea wing back’s exclusion Southgate belived that he was not going to be available till the latter stages of the tournament.

“We had to make a difficult call with Reece, who is a fantastic player. But he wasn’t going to be available until, if everything went perfectly, the latter stages of the tournament.

“There were too many unknowns on this road to recovery, and I don’t think we could take a player that’s not available for the group stage, I think that would be deemed arrogant in some circles.

“If everything went well and he was available and ready, you’d be bringing him into a quarter-final after eight weeks out. That would be really demanding.”

Kyle Walker who was also injured for a spell was able to make it back into the fold as he will be able to make it back to full fitness by the group stages of the World Cup.

“Kyle is not back in full training yet but he will be available for the group stage.” Southgate said.

His Manchester City teammate Kalvin Phillips, who was a doubt for the World Cup, has been able to recover but Southgate does not think he is fit enough to play a full game yet. There was speculation that the midfielder would not be available for England’s first group stage game due to a lack of fitness but the England manager denied this.

“No, that’s not the case. Kalvin played last night, so I think with him he’s free of injury.

“We’re aware he’s not going to be able to play 90 minutes, that won’t be possible. We’re going to have to build his fitness level. But he’s available, free of injury”

Jude Bellingham of Borrusia Dortmund is the onley player in the England squad that does not play in the Premier League.

ENGLAND’S 26-MAN SQUAD IN FULL

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Ben White (Arsenal), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Conor Coady (Everton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Declan Rice (West Ham), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), James Maddison (Leicester), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City)