With the World Cup in Qatar just a matter of days away, England manager Gareth Southgate named his much-anticipated squad for the tournament on November 10. Of course, despite the fact he could bring an additional three players to the Middle East, the 52-year-old still wasn’t able to make everyone happy and some players have had to miss out on their dreams — for at least another four years anyway.
So, as the Three Lions gear up for their group stage matches against Iran, the United States and Wales — which they will be expected to win in the Wales v England betting — read on as we take a look at some of the players who missed out.
Fikayo Tomori
Starting off at the back, Fikayo Tomori is one of the major absentees missing from defence. The former Chelsea defender has impressed since signing for AC Milan — playing a key role as the Serie A side won their first Scudetto in a decade.
The 24-year-old has three England caps to his name, most recently featuring in the 0-0 draw against Italy at Molineux Stadium in June. He was called up to their final squad in September, but failed to make it off the bench against the Italians before being left out of the squad entirely as England hosted the Germans at Wembley. Everton’s Conor Coady evidently got the nod ahead of him.
James Ward-Prowse
Moving on to midfield, and James Ward-Prowse has been left at home by Southgate. The 28-year-old is one of the most prominent players for his club, Southampton, and new Saints boss Nathan Jones might not mind the fact one of his most important players won’t be going to Qatar as he looks to turn around their fortunes after the World Cup.
It does come as a bit of a shock that Ward-Prowse isn’t amongst the 26 names, however, as he’s been called up to every England squad so far this year — albeit featuring just twice as he’s been left watching from the bench on five occasions. There’s disarray among England fans though, with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher controversially slipping in ahead of this man.
Jadon Sancho
The news that Jadon Sancho has missed out on a place in the England squad shouldn’t come as too much of a shock to many. The 22-year-old has struggled for form since making the move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund for a huge £73 million in the summer of 2021 and he has paid the ultimate price for that now.
Sancho hasn’t been involved in the England set up since he bagged two assists in the 5-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Andorra in September 2021, and there was no room to squeeze the young winger into the 26-man squad as Southgate selected eight other attackers ahead of him — including the once capped James Maddison.
Tammy Abraham
The first of two strikers we’re going to look at is Tammy Abraham. Another former Chelsea player who moved to Serie A in a bid to really kick-start his career, the 25-year-old enjoyed a first season with Jose Mourinho’s Roma last year — scoring 27 times and assisting five in 53 games.
He’s been a regular in the England fold as a result since, featuring in all of the Three Lions’ matchday squads for their six Nations League games. But he made it off the bench just once, and Southgate blamed Abraham’s poor goalscoring form — scoring just three in 14 games for Roma this season —for his exclusion. To call out a player’s form when others like Harry Maguire, Coady and Jordan Henderson are involved is questionable from the manager.
Ivan Toney
A player who likely would have been in Southgate’s 26-man list, Ivan Toney’s name could have been rubbed out just days before the squad announcement — as the Brentford forward got caught up in an untimely controversy that seems to have cost him his place on the plane to Qatar.
The 26-year-old has impressed in the Premier League for the Bees, scoring 20 times in 46 top flight games for the west London Club, but is still waiting for his England debut. He was called up for their final two Nations League games, but he failed to earn a cap as the best he could muster was sitting on the bench for the first time against Germany. Making that maiden appearance for your country at the World Cup would have been a dream come true, but it hasn’t worked out for Toney.
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West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen, who has four England caps to his name, is another attacker to have missed out.
