England, on Thursday, have released their World Cup squad for the trip to Qatar.
Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate released a list which many have questioned especially with the omission of certain names who were believed to be no-brainer inclusions. The addition of some names have also sparked outcries from across board.
However, everybody agrees with the inclusion of Ben White, Arsenal's versatile centreback whose performances this season have been one of the best of all English defenders. But his options in centreback are dividing opinions with many believing that they have not done enough to deserve a call-up to the squad for this tournament.
James Maddison is another player whose inclusion was met with praise from all and sundry. The Leicester City midfielder has been one of the best performing English midfielders in a long time, but was continuously overlooked by Southgate. Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher and Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson also made the cut.
Fikayo Tomori of AC Milan and Ivan Toney of Brentford are surprise exclusions from the squad list. For Tomori, moving to Italy has seems to have hampered his chances of an England call-up as Southgate continues to ignore the Canada-born defender who is one of the best defenders in Serie A.
Toney is one of the highest scoring English strikers in the season and is also arguably England's best penalty taker. In a competition where the team could face at least one penalty shootout, many have questioned the decision to omit Toney.
On the inclusion and exclusion of these players, Southgate said: "[Gallagher] is 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.
(Speaking on centrebacks) "We don't think the young ones have done quite enough to push the older ones out," he said of his decision to stick with the old guard.
Here is the England 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).
The Three Lions are in Group B with Iran, USA and Wales. They will open their campaign against Iran, before taking on USA after which they will round up their group stage outing with Wales.
