World Cup Watch – The English Footballers Looking to Book Themselves a Ticket to Russia
Going into the tournament, many England fans have high
hopes and are demanding success. Manager Gareth Southgate has a reasonably
strong squad to choose from, with many stars such as Harry Kane, Raheem
Sterling, Dele Alli, John Stones, Eric Dier, and Kyle Walker locked in to be selected in the squad.
However, after
all the stars and key players are selected, there will still be spaces in the
squad that need to be filled, leaving numerous players in contention for
minimal places.
So,
we at WFC have looked into those not guaranteed of a place in the England World
Cup Squad, and rated their chances out of 10 of going to Russia.
+ Five Fighting for their Place +
Gary
Cahill
Age:
32
Position:
Centre Back
Club:
Chelsea
England
Appearances: 58
Our
Say: Has much experience and has been a consistent performer in the past. With
young English centre backs such as Jones, Stones, Maguire, Keane and Dier
performing excelling though, Cahill will have a battle on his hands to make the
squad.
World
Cup Chances: 6/10
Harry
Winks
Age:
21
Position:
Centre Midfielder
Club:
Tottenham
England
Appearances: 1
Our
Say: Burst onto the scene in the latter few months of 2017, and earned himself
a national team cap, performing well in this match. However, he has fallen off
the pace in the last couple of months and has been halted by injury. Winks has the class needed to be a star, but
will need to re-find his form and fitness to be selected.
World
Cup Chances: 5/10
Danny
Drinkwater
Age:
27
Position:
Centre Midfielder
Club:
Chelsea
England
Appearances: 3
Our
Say: Despite having only started three matches for Chelsea all season,
Drinkwater has performed well each time. To be in England’s World Cup squad
though, he will need to get regular minutes under his belt.
World
Cup Chances: 6.5/10
Danny
Welbeck
Age:
27
Positions:
Striker, Winger
Club:
Arsenal
England
Appearances: 36
Our
Say: Has been a regular for England for years now, and has done a good job up
front. Injuries have been a huge problem for Welbeck though. If he wants to go
the Russia with the English squad, he must steer clear of injury and find some
form.
World
Cup Chances: 7/10
Theo
Walcott
Age:
28
Position:
Winger, Striker
Club:
Arsenal
England
Appearances: 47
Our
Say: Completely overlooked at Arsenal
this season, Walcott’s World Cup chances looked over. However, a move to Everton has changed this. At the Toffees, Walcott will most
likely nail down a regular starting spot. On debut, he provided an assist, and should he starting scoring or
assisting regularly, Walcott will definitely come back into the World Cup fold
for England.
World
Cup Chances: 5/10
+ Five Who Have Put Themselves
in the Picture +
Jordan
Pickford
Age:
23
Position:
Goalkeeper
Club:
Everton
England
Appearances: 1
Our
Say: Last season, not many would have thought Pickford could be England’s
number 1 at the World Cup. However, Everton’s shot-stopper has been a stand out
performer in goals this season. With Tom Heaton suffering from a long term
injury, and Joe Hart and Fraser Forster out of form, Pickford is well in the race
to be England’s starting keeper in Russia.
World
Cup Chances: 9.5/10
Harry
Maguire
Age:
24
Position:
Centre Back
Club:
Leicester
England
Appearances: 3
Our
Say: Shot onto the scene last season with Hull, and has only gotten better this
season. He has commanded the Foxes backline this season so far, and has already
earned himself three England caps on the back of these performances. Southgate
has quite a few centre backs to choose from, but Maguire will most likely be
off to Russia if he keeps performing well.
World
Cup Chances: 8/10
Fabian
Delph
Age:
28
Positions:
Centre Midfielder, Left Back
Club:
Manchester City
England
Appearances: 9
Our
Say: Languished on the Manchester City bench last season, only playing 224
minutes all season. However, he has been a regular for Pep Guardiola’s side this
season, already playing 1282 minutes. He has been a reliable performer for
England in the past, and is a versatile player. If Guardiola trusts Delph, so
should Southgate.
World
Cup Chances: 7/10
Jack
Wilshere
Age:
26
Position:
Centre Midfielder
Club:
Arsenal
England
Appearances: 34
Our
Say: Has been ignored by Southgate in the past due to a lack of minutes.
However, Wilshere is injury free, starting week in week out, and performing
at a high level. He seems to now be reaching his full potential, and if he is not
struck down by injury, Wilshere will be hard to ignore.
World
Cup Chances: 8/10
Jesse
Lingard
Age:
25
Positions:
Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Club:
Manchester United
England
Appearances: 8
Our
Say: Inconsistency in the past has prevented Lingard from taking a step forward
in his career. Recently however, his performances have been sublime, scoring 7
goals and providing 2 assists in his past 11 starts. Now, the challenge for
Lingard is to keep this form up. Should he do this, it would signal a coming of
age and a transition from a frustrating
talent to a top level footballer.
World
Cup Chances: 9/10
+ Five Bolters
Joe
Gomez
Age:
20
Positions:
Centre Back, Right Back
Club:
Liverpool
England
Appearances: 2
Our
Say: The young Liverpool defender has been a mainstay in the Reds backline this
season, where he has put in quality performances well beyond his years. Making
his England debut in November 2017, Gomez received the man of the match award
in only his second appearance for the Three Lions, completely nullifying
Brazil’s Neymar in the match. Despite Southgate having many defenders to choose
from, Gomez’s versatility and unique attributes could see him selected for the
World Cup.
World
Cup Chances: 7.5/10
Tom
Cleverley
Age:
28
Position:
Centre Midfielder
Club:
Watford
England
Appearances: 13
Our
Say: After a rather unsuccessful spell at Everton, Cleverley has rediscovered
his best form at Watford. Despite not representing England since 2013,
Cleverley could be a solid option at centre midfield for the Three Lions in the
World Cup.
World
Cup Chances: 4/10
Ruben
Loftus-Cheek
Age:
21
Positions:
Centre Midfielder, Wide Midfielder
Club:
Crystal Palace
England
Appearances: 2
Our
Say: The young midfielder hasn’t been given a chance at his parent club
Chelsea, but has put in a string of fine performances for his loan club Crystal
Palace. This saw him earn a call-up to the national team in November, where he
won man of the match against Germany in only his second appearance.
Loftus-Cheek has shown that he can hold his own on the international stage.
Now, he must convince Southgate that he is a better option than others.
World
Cup Chances: 5/10
Andros
Townsend
Age:
26
Position:
Winger
Club:
Crystal Palace
England
Appearances: 13
Our
Say: A very dangerous player who can be unstoppable on his day. However,
inconsistency has been a problem for Townsend. He just seemed to be finding some
consistent form, but injury has struck him down. Townsend needs to get fit, back
on the park, and hit outstanding form if he wants to earn an England recall.
World
Cup Chances: 2/10
Demarai
Gray
Age:
21
Position:
Winger, Attacking Midfielder
Club:
Leicester
England
Appearances: 0
Our
Say: A young gun who has a big future for England. With his dribbling and
trickery, he has what it takes to be a top class player. Although unlikely, it would be a great time to give the future star national team experience at a World Cup.
World
Cup Chances: 0.5/10
+ Five Likely to Miss Out
Tom
Heaton
Age:
31
Position:
Goalkeeper
Club:
Burnley
England
Appearances: 3
Our
Say: A very bad shoulder injury has ruled him out of the majority of the
2017/18. In this time, young English goalkeepers such as Butland and Pickford have
put their best feet forward. With Joe Hart a favourite in the national set up,
it looks like Heaton will struggle to find a place in England’s World Cup squad.
World
Cup Chances: 4/10
Chris
Smalling
Age:
28
Position:
Centre Back
Club:
Manchester United
England
Appearances: 31
Our
Say: The Three Lions have a multitude of talented central defenders. Facing
tough competition, Smalling is in real danger of not making the World Cup
squad.
World
Cup Chances: 5.5/10
Ross
Barkley
Age:
24
Position:
Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Club:
Chelsea
England
Appearances: 22
Our
Say: Has been ruled out due to injury all season. A move to Chelsea doesn’t seem to boost his
World Cup chances, with regular minutes looking hard to come by given that
Conte already has Kanté, Bakayoko, Fàbregas and Drinkwater at his disposal.
Without finding superb form, Barkley will miss out.
World
Cup Chances: 3/10
Jermain
Defoe
Age:
35
Position:
Striker
Club:
Bournemouth
England
Appearances: 57
Our
Say: The veteran worked his way back into the English side in 2017 after a
string of top quality performances. However, Defoe has been poor this season,
and with numerous other attacking options at Southgate’s disposal, Defoe’s
chances of making England’s World Cup squad look very, very slim.
World
Cup Chances: 1/10
Daniel
Sturridge
Age:
28
Position:
Striker
Club:
Liverpool
England
Appearances: 26
Our
Say: A proven goal scorer, Sturridge has had his career halted by Jürgen Klopp’s reluctance to afford him minutes. This
has greatly impacted his international career, having been overlooked by
Southgate recently. With only five starts all season, and zero club minutes in ten
games, Sturridge must urgently find himself a starting spot and begin to bang
in the goals to show that he is one of England’s best strikers.
World
Cup Chances: 4.5/10
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