England’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been revealed with eight Manchester-based players on the plane to Qatar.
Five are from Manchester City – Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones and Kyle Walker – while Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw play for Manchester United.
The tournament starts next Sunday 20 November, with England’s first game against Iran the following day.
England manager Gareth Southgate said: “We have wanted to make sure we have the balance of the squad right.
“In this day and age squad is more important than ever with five substitutes. You want different options for different moments of matches and different stages of the tournament as well.
“We have had to cover a couple of players who are not fully match fit as well so having 26 players means you can take a couple of risks.
“We think the balance is there. We think we have everything covered.”
One notable omission is centre-back Fikayo Tomori who played a key role in winning Serie A with AC Milan last season.
In his place is Maguire, whose poor form has caused him to have limited game time at club level, but Southgate is still confident in the 29-year-old’s ability.
“We don’t think the young ones [centre-backs] have done quite enough to push the older ones out,” he added.
“Yes, I’m sure Harry Maguire is one of our best centre backs.”
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Eric Dier (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Conor Coady (Everton), Ben White (Arsenal), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
Forwards: James Maddison (Leicester), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
