There are many players who Southgate is looking for ahead of the World Cup in Russia. All from extraordinary players to an average player who has been playing good football in the Premier League. Some of the names that are definitely playing in the World Cup this summer are Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Gary Cahill.
English national team has a lot of depth and is always one of the top teams participating in the World Cup. Their squad is a good mixture of old and young players and there are a lot of different line ups and formations that Southgate could use to make a pretty good team.
We expect England to play in a 4-3-3 formation like they´ve done for the past few years.
Goalkeeper
The keeper position is probably the hardest one to predict as the English national team has a few decent keepers. Joe Hart has owned this position since 2012 but has been declining for the past few years and has gotten worse than he was. He has been loaned out from Manchester City for the past two years or since Pep Guardiola took charge of City.
Other keepers have been playing very well in the Premier League this season but are not as expierented as Joe Hart is so that could be a reason why other keepers might not get a chance, although they have played a few games for the national team.
These other keepers who have a good chance at going to Russia are Nick Pope, Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford.
Jack Butland has clearly the most experience out of these keepers but has been dealing with injuries who a while now which isn´t good for him.
Nick Pope came unexpectedly into the starting line-up for Sean Dyche´s Burnley squad as their main goalkeeper, Tom Heaton, got injured. Pope has been amazing this season for Burnley and has a chance to play in Russia.
The fourth keeper is Jordan Pickford who transferred to Everton in the last summer transfer window from Sunderland who had been relegated. Pickford is a decent keeper but make silly mistakes time to time which could cost a game. Everton have been struggling this season and Pickford hasn´t been able to shine like he would´ve hoped to.
For our decision in the goalkeeper position we have to put Pickford in there.
Right back
There is no question about it that Kyle Walker won´t be playing in the right back position unless he gets injured. Walker has owned the right back position for a few years now and he isn´t letting it go even though Kieran Trippier has been putting in some great performances fot Tottenham this season.
Center backs
This one is quite hard like the goalkeeper. We predict that John Stones and Gary Cahill will be the center backs pairing and Harry Maguire might be a third option or even Chris Smalling. John Stones has improved a lot since joining Manchester City and is one of the top defender in the Premier League. Gary Cahill has been playing for the national team for some time now and is considered as captain as Wayne Rooney, who was captain, decided to retire from international football.
Left back
Danny Rose will most likely be playing at left back although Ashley Young has been putting in some decent performances for Manchester United. Danny Rose is just the best English left back and especially when Leighton Baines is getting older.
Midfielders
England have been lacking a great midfielder for quite a while now. They have been playing Jordan Henderson but he´s been having trouble with injuries all his career. Eric Dier has also been playing there and was more often than not in the starting line up in the Euros in 2016. Adam Lallana and Dele Alli are both one of the best English midfielders and are they expected to be in the starting line up.
Left wing
Marcus Rashford is the only good option for England in the left wing position if they want to have pace down the flanks. Rashford started for United as a striker but has been playing as a winger this season after the arrival of Lukaku.
Right wing
There is no debating that Raheem Sterling will be starting on the right wing. England are deadly on the flanks with extraordinary pace and the most important for them is that Sterling and Rashford are both very young and they are very good footballers and they haven´t even entered their prime yet. Sterling and Rashford can also play in other positions and can switch wings mid-game so that the oppositions full backs will be in trouble, always taking on a new winger.
Striker
Harry Kane will be playing as a striker in the World Cup. There are a few players who could play with him if Southgate decides to play a two-striker formation. Players like Jamie Vardy or even Jermain Defoe will probably be on the flight to Russia this summer.
Post by: Danival Ísak Jónsson
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