As they prepare to compete in their seventh straight World Cup, England will be hoping to experience victory for the first time since their success in 1966.
Although there is a quality pool of footballers at Gareth Southgate's disposal from whom to choose his World Cup team, the England manager will be concerned with their poor Nations League performance. For the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, therefore, Southgate will need to carefully choose his best XI in a bid to end England's international glory draught.
Here are England's five best players who are likely to make it to Qatar this November.
Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford will be on the flight to Qatar as Gareth Southgate's No.1 in goal for England. He is an English professional footballer, born on 7th March 1994 and plays as a goalkeeper for his national side, England, and club side, Everton.
Pickford’s reflexion and ability to maintain his authority within the penalty box and consistency catapults him as one of the top goalkeepers in the English Premier League. He kept 11 clean sheets in 41 matches in the last season for Everton, a feat that is astonishing given the club's substandard defense.
Overall, in his Premier League career, the English goalkeeper has made 223 appearances and kept 57 clean sheets in the competition.
Declan Rice
The 23-year-old captain of London club West Ham, Declan Rice, was born in January 1999 and began his youth footballing career at Chelsea FC. He then left the Blues to join fellow London side West Ham United’s youth set-up when he was 14 years old. Rice signed his first professional contract with West Ham United in 2015 and went on to establish himself as a regular in the first team for the Hammers.
So far in his Premier League career, he has appeared 180 times in the competition, with 7 goals scored and 10 assists.
Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson is an English professional footballer who plays for Liverpool as captain in the English Premiere League and the England national football team. He was born on 17th June 1990 and primarily plays as a central midfielder or a central defensive midfielder. Under Hendo's captaincy, Liverpool has become one of the strongest clubs in recent years, with one EPL title and one UCL title.
So far in his Premier League career, he has appeared in 407 matches in the competition, with 33 goals and 50 assists.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane is a professional footballer who currently plays for the Premiere League club Tottenham and the England national team. Born on 28 July 1983, the striker is known for his stunning goalscoring ability which helped him gain a position among the league's most prolific goal scorers.
Harry Kane emerged on the international platform when he was called up to represent England in the Under-17 format in 2010. Following successful loan stints with Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City, Kane cemented his spot in Tottenham's first team in the 2014-15 season. Since then, the English talisman has consistently been a goal scoring machine in the league, with around 20-30 goals per season.
Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka, born on 5 September 2001 in London, is an English international football player who plays as a midfielder for England national team and London club Arsenal.
He signed his first professional contract at the age of 17, being promoted to Arsenal's Under-23 team. Saka made his Premier League debut on the first day of 2019, entering in place of Alex Iwobi. He was the first 2001-born player to play in an English Premier League game.
So far in his Premier League career, he has appeared 109 times in the competition, with 21 goals scored and 20 assists.
Read more:
⋙ The reason why Prince William 'has no plans' to travel to Qatar for World Cup
⋙ Harry Kane: Who is the footballer's wife?
⋙ Tottenham's Harry Kane reportedly on Bayern Munich's target transfer list
