The final 23-man England World Cup squad was announced on Wednesday. But I’m not really sure if Gareth Southgate actually named any players to it or if those English kids were just spewing jibberish.
OK, so I admit I’m an American. I prefer American grammar to British grammar and sometimes need to turn the subtitles on to watch “Snatch” or “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.” But the England World Cup squad announcement video was just pure garbage to my ears.
Listen for yourself.
For the nation, by the nation. The #ThreeLions’ official @FIFAWorldCup squad announcement. pic.twitter.com/YecUWPUZfJ
— England (@England) May 16, 2018
Is it just me or was it impossible to make out the names on the England World Cup squad? It took watching the video three times and reading the actual list of the squad to finally make out the names these kids are saying in the video.
I will admit, the video itself was pretty cool. It’s a bit unfortunate England had to turn to kids to find people who were actually excited for the Three Lions this summer, but decades of disappointment will do that to fans. We do feel bad for the kids who recorded Joe Hart’s name only to have their scene cut after he was left off the squad.
Other than Joe Hart, who probably didn’t deserve to be on the team anyway, the England World Cup squad didn’t include too many surprises, though the team is a bit heavy on defenders. Of the 23 players (three of which must be goalkeepers), 11 have spent large portions of their career in defense.
The team is also short on creativity, in part due to the injury of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Southgate will have to hope Dele Alli is on his game as he’s just about the only creative midfielder on the squad since Jack Wilshere wasn’t included. That will put a lot of emphasis on forwards/wingers Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck to create on their own. Ruben Loftus-Cheek could help out in that regard, but with just two caps to his name, who knows if Southgate will trust him in big situations.
The list England released on Wednesday represents the final 23-man squad, though there are a few alternates in case of injury. The squad can be changed up to 24 hours before England’s opening match against Tunisia on June 18.
Anyway, enough babble about the England World Cup squad announcement video mess. Here’s the team:
England World Cup Squad
Goalkeepers
- Jordan Pickford (Everton)
- Jack Butland (Stoke City)
- Nick Pope (Burnley)
Defenders
- John Stones (Manchester City)
- Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
- Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
- Harry Maguire (Leicester City)
- Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Ashley Young (Manchester United)
- Phil Jones (Manchester United)
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Midfielders
- Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
- Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)
- Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
- Fabian Delph (Manchester City)
Forwards
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
- Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
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