England World Cup squad announced as Maddison and Wilson make it, but Toney misses out

England manager Gareth Southgate has announced his 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Three Lions kick off their campaign on the 21st of November against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium and important decisions have been made of who stays and who goes to the Middle East.

Speaking on his whole squad selection Southgate said: "We've wanted to make sure we have the balance right. In this day and age squad is more important than ever, with five subs you can change almost half your team.

"You want different things at different stages of matches and at different stages of the tournament.

"We've had to cover a couple of players that aren't fully match fit, so having 26 meant we were able to take some risks we weren't able to with 23.

"We think we have the cover we need, we are lighter on depth in some areas than others in our country, but we think we have everything covered."

Let's get into the squad!

GOALKEEPERS:

As you were in the goalkeeping department with: Jordon Pickford, Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale all included. Pickford, 28, is expected to remain as the starting man between the sticks just like he has done for the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Euros. Both Pope and Ramsdale have been standout players in their respective sides with Newcastle making a push for the top four in the Premier League, whilst Arsenal lead the way at the summit ahead of Manchester City. On loan Nottingham Forest keeper Dean Henderson has just missed out, despite making a strong case with his consistent performances so far this season, but with the strength in depth in this area, it was always going to be a tough ask for him to make the cut.

FULL GOALKEEPER LIST:

Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Nick Pope (Newcastle).

DEFENDERS:

9 defenders are included from Gareth Southgate, with the surprise inclusion of Manchester City's Kyle Walker, who has managed to prove his fitness after battling back from a groin injury. He will provide a big boost however, with his versatility of playing at right back and in central defence key. Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is included, despite very limited game time whilst Ben White earns a well-deserved call-up with him playing a vital role at full back in Arsenal's fantastic start to the campaign along with the needed depth due to injuries of Chelsea duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell. There are surprise omissions for AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori and Newcastle United's Dan Burn, who along with Walker has the versatility required to suit England's system and has been part of a Magpies defence who have only conceded 11 goals so far in the Premier League. Brighton pair Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk will also be disappointed to have not been given opportunities.

FULL DEFENDERS LIST:

Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Benjamin White (Arsenal), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Conor Coady (Everton, on loan from Wolves), Luke Shaw (Man Utd).

MIDFIELDERS:

6 midfielders have been chosen in the squad, with the most notable and surprising addition of Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has only managed 13 minutes of competitive football so far this season. There are usual inclusions for Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and Jordan Henderson but Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has forced his way into the side for his first ever World Cup, after becoming a Blues regular under new boss Graham Potter. This means there is no place for Southampton man James Ward-Prowse, who has had a disappointing start to the season with only a goal and an assist from 14 PL games.

FULL MIDFIELDERS LIST:

Declan Rice (West Ham), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Man City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Mason Mount (Chelsea).

FORWARDS:

The first place we must begin is the call-up of Leicester City man James Maddison. The 25-year-old has been a shining light in a poor Foxes team of late with 18 goals and 12 assists in his last 47 appearances since the start of the 2021/22 season. This means Maddison has the highest amount of goal involvements in the PL since August 2021 with 30, three more than Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.

On Maddison Southgate said: "He is playing really well. We think he can give us something slightly different to the attacking players that we've got.

"He's playing as good as any of the attacking players in this country. He is a little bit different to the others. I think we could need that."

The other big talking point is a first call up for England since 2019 for Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, who has been in superb form for Eddie Howe's side with 6 goals in 10 Premier League outings. From this inclusion, it means Brentford striker Ivan Toney misses out, who has two more goals this season than Wilson. The forward, born in Northampton, has scored 26 penalties out of a possible 27 in his career, and looked an absolute shoe in for a penalty shootout if required, particularly with so much heartache from them through the years.

There are also exclusions for Roma's Tammy Abraham, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Manchester United's Jadon Sancho, who all haven't hit the heights expected of them this season.

Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish are amongst the expected forward options available.

FULL FORWARDS LIST:

Harry Kane (Tottenham), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Man City), James Maddison (Leicester City).

Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments section of the England squad. What has Southgate got right and wrong?