World Cup 2022 wallchart and predictor
Gareth Southgate has welcomed the prospect of being allowed to name every player in his matchday squad if Fifa presses ahead with increasing squad sizes at the World Cup in Qatar.
The England manager was frustrated at being forced to leave out three players from his bench at Euro 2020 and managers are now in the process of pushing authorities to scrap the rule.
Fifa appears likely to increase squad sizes from 23 to 26, having discussed proposals prior to the tournament group draw.
Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho were among the players to miss out early on in the Euros with Southgate saying at the time: “I’m spending more energy worrying about the three I have to leave out of the 26 because they’re all good players, none of them deserve to be left out.”
This winter, Southgate’s selection options will be complicated by the increased strain of playing at a World Cup within eight days of the Premier League breaking off in November.
Southgate, however, insists “we’re quite relaxed” on the general prospect of increased squad sizes as a meeting with managers suggests widespread support for ensuring all players are available at each match.
“I think what everyone is saying is that if the squads are going to be bigger then it needs to be a situation where everybody is able to change on a matchday,” he said. “That was unanimous in the room. Whether a bigger squad is necessary… originally that was for Covid, there’s now people talking about the condensed fixtures. I still think it’s a bigger skill to pick a 23 and to work all that out. But that decision will be made and I suspect it will be 26. But I think everybody has to be available for all the games.”
Chilwell was singled out for particular praise by Southgate. The full-back’s patience had been tested to the limit after he was left out and then forced to self-isolate for 10 days over a Covid scare.
Speaking at Friday’s World Cup draw in Qatar, Southgate admitted it is a continuous challenge as an England manager to keep players happy when they are left out. “You either get the difficult conversations in the middle of November or in the next few weeks, that’s how it was last summer,” he explained. “When you are picking a team, when you’ve got 11 who are happy and 15 who are disappointed that’s more of a challenge. That’s managing. That’s why you don’t have to take 26, I know Luis Enrique didn’t last year. That’s something we’ll have to think about depending on what the Covid situation is and what our injuries might be.”
After the favourable draw for England on Friday, Fifa confirmed match timings which will see the Three Lions take on Iran on the opening day at 1pm GMT on November 21.
