Joining Joe Hart? Five who could miss out on England’s World Cup squad

Danny Welbeck

Harry Kane (1/25), Marcus Rashford (1/20) and Jamie Vardy (1/20) are all more or less certainties to be named among Southgate’s 23-man squad. However, for Danny Welbeck, the picture isn’t quite so clear.

Despite a record of 15 goals in 37 matches for the Three Lions, the 27-year-old is only 4/5 to make the plane. His fitness could be an issue for the England boss. So too could his willingness to bring four out-and-out strikers.

Welbeck can also be deployed on the flanks, of course. But with plenty of players already vying for those positions, will Southgate deem there any need to play a square peg in a round hole?

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Unlike some of the players on this list, Trent Alexander-Arnold will not have any expectation about going to this summer’s World Cup. However, should he miss out, there’s an argument to suggest the right-back would be rather unlucky.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season with Liverpool. He’s shone both in the Premier League and the Champions League, playing 32 matches in total. As such, he can probably be considered one of the standout young players in Europe right now.

Unfortunately for Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier are ahead of him on the runway. And it’s their experience which should win through ahead of the summer tournament.

Jake Livermore

It’s touch-and-go whether Jake Livermore will make the cut for Russia. The West Bromwich Albion midfielder is 9/4 to make the plane following the Baggies’ relegation from the top-flight.

Should the 28-year-old miss out, he can consider himself extremely unlucky. Why? Well, he was a mainstay of Southgate’s squad towards the end of the qualifying campaign.

He also played all but five minutes of action as England held Brazil and Germany to successive 0-0 draws earlier this season at Wembley.

However, no appearances since would suggest his star has waned. And with a number of competitors staking convincing claims in the second half of the season, Livermore could now find himself on the sun lounger instead of the plane.

Big match previews, betting tips and transfer news – Coral have it all.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing