The 2022 World Cup continues to creep up on us.
England boss Gareth Southgate will already have a pretty good idea of what his squad will look like for the global showpiece in Qatar, but there will be a handful of places still up for grabs. Fortunately for the boss, there are a number of players who look capable of forcing their way into the setup.
Here’s a closer look at some of the fringe players worth keeping an eye on.
Look, nobody at Leicester looks good right now. Southgate is not rocking up to the King Power Stadium looking for talent from the Premier League’s bottom club.
That being said, if anyone can break out of the funk, it’s probably James Maddison.
He has two goals and an assist in his first five Premier League games this year and ended last season on an incomparable tear. The talent is there, and if Maddison can show it a little bit more, he could be on the plane to Qatar.
Yep, the highest-scoring Englishman in the Premier League somehow still counts as a fringe player. In fact, he’s still waiting for his first call-up to the England squad.
Ivan Toney has proven his ability to hang at the highest level in English football and just why the Brentford man is yet to make a single international appearance is anyone’s guess.
If he keeps scoring goals and bullying defenders, there’s no way Southgate will be able to overlook him.
Antonio Conte has long been adamant that Eric Dier can get back into the England setup. It was a comical suggestion at first but, over time, it has seemed more and more reasonable. Almost as if these expensive Premier League managers know a little something about talent.
The versatile Dier has been a mainstay in Tottenham‘s defence for over a year now, shining on their push for the top four last season before getting the business done this year as well.
Centre-back is perhaps the most up-in-the-air position in Southgate’s squad. Dier has a good a chance as anyone to make it.
Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace can be a lot of fun to watch and a large part of that is the return to fitness of Ebere Eze.
Comfortable in midfield or on the wing, the 24-year-old is a dribbling machine who has already started racking up assists this year. It’s a sort of play style that the Three Lions aren’t really…
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