World Cup 2022

World Cup Survivor: England squad - did you know?


The 26-man England squad tasked with bringing football home and ending 56 years of hurt was revealed by Gareth Southgate last week.

There were a few shock exclusions with Ivan Toney responding to his rejection by netting twice against Manchester City while Tammy Abraham was told he had lost form at the wrong time (Harry Maguire, Tammy is pointing at you)!

Leicester City’s James Maddison deservedly booked his spot on the plane after a great run of form, but how much game time will he get?

The Three Lions first World Cup game against Iran is less than a week away which means £25,000+ Tournament Survivor is fast approaching!

Entries close at 12:45pm on Monday, 21 November…here are a few England-themed stats to help get you in the mood.

Did you know…Nick Pope should probably start?

We all know that Jordan Pickford will be Southgate’s pick for when England take to the field on Monday, but should he be?

Newcastle’s Pope has been in superb form to help his side enter the break in a Champions League spot and no goalkeeper has more Premier League clean sheets (7).

He also has superior stats when compared to Pickford in categories including save percentage, high claims and keeper sweeper regains which really states his case for a starting berth.

To be fair to Pickford, despite Everton’s horrific form, he has made the second-most saves of any Premier League stopper in the 22/23 campaign - Pope ranks 10th on that list.

Did you know…James Maddison has more Premier League goals than Salah?

There would have been public outrage if Maddison didn’t make the squad but now the question is: how much will he be involved during the tournament?

He has scored more Premier League goals this season (7) than Mohamed Salah and new teammate Callum Wilson whilst also being the second-highest English player on the assists chart (4).

The tricky midfielder hadn’t been called up to the national team in three years and his only cap to date came as a second-half sub in a 7-0 win over Montenegro in 2019, which leaves questions over how much he is fancied by Southgate.

Perhaps the likes of Maddison and Jack Grealish will be deployed as impact players off the bench, but if given the chance, Madders could light up the World Cup.

Did you know…Harry Maguire has only started in 1 league win this season?

It’s almost a given that Manchester City’s Stones will line-up in the heart of England’s defence, but experts have been split on who should be his partner.

If history has taught us anything, Southgate has incredible trust in Manchester United’s captain and it’s easy to see why - he was named in ‘Team of the Tournament’ at both the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euros.

The 29-year-old comes into this competition having only started 3 of United’s 14 Premier League games this season - 2 of which ended in humiliating defeats (2-1 vs Brighton, 4-0 vs Brentford).

Lack of minutes, low on confidence…it might not matter to a player who produces his best in a white shirt and has only been on the losing side in 23% of international matches.

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England are first up in £25,000+ Tournament Survivor…will you back them vs Iran or save them for later?

50% of the final Prize Pool goes to entrants that make it through the Group Stage before our longest survivors win the other 50%!

You can enter up to three times…grab your spot on the plane by 12:45pm on Monday, 21 November here.


101 GreatGoals

101 GreatGoals

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