Who will be in the England team at the 2018 World Cup?

World Cup Betting

Gareth Southgate has named his 23-man squad and will now try to pick a team that can be successful in Russia

The 23-man England squad has now been announced for the 2018 World Cup and Gareth Southgate has largely selected players who have had successful domestic seasons for their clubs.

World Cup 2018 Outright Winner Odds*

  • Brazil 4/1
  • Germany 9/2
  • Spain 6/1
  • France 13/2
  • Argentina 9/1
  • Belgium 11/1
  • England 16/1
  • Portugal 25/1
  • Uruguay 28/1
  • Croatia 33/1
  • Colombia 40/1
  • Russia 40/1
  • Poland 66/1
  • Switzerland 100/1
  • Denmark 100/1
  • Mexico 100/1
  • Sweden 150/1
  • Bar 200/1

* (Betting Odds taken at 4:07 p.m. on June 4th, 2018)

Visit Bet365

In terms of goalkeeper, Southgate has opted to include Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Nick Pope, with Pickford looking like a nailed choice considering the Everton stopper played in the friendly matches against Germany and Brazil.

Southgate is clearly intent on playing with three centre-halves and Manchester City pair John Stones and Kyle Walker look like shoo-ins for two of those positions, while Phil Jones is likely to accompany them providing that the Manchester United is fit enough to play.

Harry Maguire is a good back-up option to play as a centre-half and Gary Cahill also provides an option after a return to form with Chelsea.

In terms of wing-backs, Kieran Trippier looks set to operate on the right considering that the Tottenham man was used recently in that position for England, while the left wing-back could see Trippier’s club team-mate Danny Rose line up after some bright performances for Spurs recently.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ashley Young will provide back-up in those positions, with the former having shone brightly for Liverpool and ironically has his place because of Joe Gomez’s injury.

In the midfield engine room, there will be two players lining up against Tunisia and Jordan Henderson looks absolutely nailed for one of the spots, with the Liverpool captain the driving force behind the Reds at club level.

The other spot is likely to go to Eric Dier who is an unspectacular player but someone who has plenty of experience and can play the holding role pretty well.

That leaves three spots up for grabs and the players in the box seat are Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli, although it’s possible that Alli could play in the holding midfield role against Tunisia and Panama before being advanced forward against Belgium.

Kane looks undroppable considering his reliability in a Tottenham (and England) shirt, while Sterling was one of the Premier League’s top scorers last season and the Manchester City forward is capable of troubling the most difficult opponents. Kane is the 5/4 favourite at bet365* (betting odds taken on June 5th, 2018 at 3:34 a.m.) in the England top goalscorer market.

Alli has been more hit-and-miss for Spurs this season but should feature in Russia, while Manchester United pair Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford will stake their claim for game time and look like good options off the bench.

Jamie Vardy is another exciting option to have in reserve, although the Leicester forward will feel he has shown enough for the Foxes to get a start in England’s opener against Tunisia. England are 1/3 odds on favourites at Bet365* (betting odds taken on June 5th, 2018 at 3:34 a.m.) to beat Tunisia on June 18th. Perhaps he will be selected to play with Kane although both are accustomed to being the central striker.