England World Cup squad: Southgate's 23 Lions who made the cut for Russia

The squad includes some brightest youngsters while disappointing the likes of senior players like Joe Hart and Ryan Bertrand.

England eased their way through to the World Cup 2018 qualification campaign but will have to face much tougher challenge ahead in Russia.

The ‘Three Lions’ have been placed in Group G alongside Belgium, Panama and Tunisia – but their recent form in International Competitions strike a warning in their qualification bid to the knockout stages.

Head coach Gareth Southgate has named England's 23-man squad for Fifa World Cup 2018, which had some surprise inclusions and exclusions.  He has included some of the brightest youngsters from London while disappointing the likes of senior players like Joe Hart and Ryan Bertrand.

These are 23 Southgate’s Lions who have been given ticket to Russia with their latest form:

Goalkeepers:  Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jack Butland (Stoke), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Jack Butland. (Photo: @JackButland_One)

Jordan Pickford (Age: 24, Caps: 2): Pickford kept 10 clean sheets in the Premier League in 2017-18, which is the third time in his five seasons in the top four tiers that he has registered 10+ shutouts in a league campaign.

Nick Pope (Age: 26, Caps: 0): Pope posted 76.5%, the highest save percentage of any English goalkeeper in the Premier League in 2017-18.

Jack Butland (Age: 25, Caps: 7): Butland made 144 saves, more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League in 2017-18.

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose (both Tottenham), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Phil Jones (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Young (ManUtd)

Kyle Walker. (Photo: @kylewalker2)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Age 19, Caps: 0, Goals: 0): Only one current teenager (Tom Davies, 1901 mins) played more minutes in the Premier League this season than Trent Alexander-Arnold (1575 mins).

Kyle Walker (Age: 27, Caps: 34, Goals: 0): Walker provided six assists for his Man City teammates in the Premier League this season, which is his best ever return in the competition.

Kieran Trippier (Age: 27, Caps: 5, Goals: 0): No Spurs player assisted Harry Kane (5) more times in the Premier League in 2017-18 than Kieran Trippier.

Danny Rose (Age: 27, Caps: 16, Goals: 0): Spurs won 70% of their Premier League matches in which Danny Rose featured this season (7 of 10), compared to 57.1% when he was absent (16 of 28).  

John Stones (Age: 23, Caps: 24, Goals: 0): John Stones was on the winning side in 83.3% of his 18 Premier League appearances in 2017-18 (15 wins), his best win percentage in a single campaign. Stones also posted the best passing accuracy in the Man City team (95.8%).

Harry Maguire (Age: 25, Caps: 4, Goals: 0): Maguire was the only Leicester City player to feature in every minute of action in the 2017-18 Premier League campaign (3420 mins).

Phil Jones (Age: 26, Caps: 24, Goals: 0): Manchester United kept a clean sheet in 15 of the 23 Premier League games in which Phil Jones played in 2017-18 (65%).

Gary Cahill  (Age: 32, Caps: 58, Goals: 4): Cahill made more clearances (123) than any other Chelsea player in the Premier League this season.

Ashley Young (Age: 32, Caps: 33, Goals: 7): Young made 30 Premier League appearances this season, as many as in his previous two campaigns combined – he also provided four PL assists in 2017-18, one more than in 2016-17 and 2015-16 combined.

Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, (Liverpool), Eric Dier, Dele Alli (both Tottenham), Jesse Lingard (Man Utd), Fabian Delph (Man City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Jordan Henderson. (Photo: Shuttershock)

Jordan Henderson (Age: 27, Caps: 38, Goals: 0): Henderson has provided four assists in 10 England appearances under Gareth Southgate, this after registering two assists in his previous 28 games for the Three Lions.

Eric Dier (Age: 24, Caps: 25, Goals: 3): Dier completed more passes (1939) in 2017-18 than he did in any other Premier League season.

Dele Alli (Age: 22, Caps: 23 Goals: 2): Alli provided 10 assists for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League in 2017-18, which his highest total in a single season in the competition.

Jesse Lingard (Age: 25, Caps: 10 Goals: 1): Lingard scored 13 goals, which is one of four players to score 10+ goals in all competitions for Manchester United in 2017-18, alongside Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial.

Fabian Delph (Age: 28, Caps: 9, Goals: 0): Delph completed 90.9% of his dribbles in the Premier League this season, a higher rate than any other Man City player.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Age: 22, Caps: 2, Goals: 0): Ruben has been directly involved in five PL goals this term in 24 apps (two goals, three assists), this after scoring just one goal (no assists) in his previous 22 games spanning three seasons.

Forwards: Raheem Sterling (Man City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)

Raheem Sterling (Age: 23 Caps: 37, Goals: 2): Sterling became the first Englishman to reach double figures for both goals and assists in a single Premier League season for Man City (18 goals, 11 assists) in 2017-18.

Jamie Vardy (Age: 31, Caps: 21, Goals: 7): Vardy is the first Leicester City player to score 20+ goals in at least two different top-flight seasons since Gary Lineker in 1983-84 and 1984-85.

Harry Kane (Age: 24, Caps: 23, Goals: 12): Kane scored 30 Premier League goals for the first time in his career in 2017-18, who is the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Phillips in 1999-2000 (also, 30).

Marcus Rashford (Age: 20, Caps: 17, Goals: 2): Rashford has scored on his Premier League, Europa League, Champions League & EFL Cup debut for Manchester United, as well as his England debut back in May 2016 versus Australia.

Danny Welbeck (Age: 27, Caps: 37, Goals: 15): Welbeck reached double figures for goals in all competitions for the third time in his career (also 2011-12 and 2013-14) in 2017-18.

Standby list: Tom Heaton (Burnley), Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Jake Livermore (West Brom) and Adam Lallana (Liverpool)

Team Selection

Speaking to media, Gareth Southgate regarding his selection says, "“I believe this is a squad which we can be excited about”. “We have a lot of energy and athleticism in the team, but players that are equally comfortable in possession of the ball and I think people can see the style of play we’ve been looking to develop."

“It is a young group, but with some really important senior players so I feel the balance of the squad is good, both in terms of its experience, its character and also the positional balance.”

“The selection process has been over months really, it’s not just been the last few weeks,” said Southgate. “We feel the team are improving and we want to continue that momentum.

Harry Kane The Captain

Harry Kane will lead England to their 15th global tournament and has the backing of his coach. Gareth Southgate said, “Harry has some outstanding personal qualities. He is a meticulous professional and one of the most important things for a captain is that they set the standard every day".

The selection of Trent Alexander-Arnold

19 year old, Liverpool right back got much media attention regarding his selection of uncapped, Trent Alexander-Arnold. Speaking on the issue, Gareth Southgate said, “The first call up for Trent Alexander-Arnold is well deserved. When we pick young players, it’s not just because they are young, it’s because their performances deserve it."

The top stars and other players who didn't make the cut

Jack Wilshere: Arsenal's Jack Wilshere made 38 appearances in all competitions in 2017-18 with two goals and five assists. This was his second highest total for Arsenal after 2010-11 (49 games). But Gareth Southgate overlooked him and considered other midfielding options like Eric Dier and Fabian Delph. Wilshere fitness condition might be a reason for his exclusion as he has yet to feature for England under Southgate. He was called up for the squad for the March friendlies against Holland and Italy but had to withdraw with a knee injury.

Jack Wilshere. (Photo: Shuttershock)

Joe Hart: Hart made his senior international debut in June 2008, and was recognised as England's first-choice goalkeeper from 2010 to 2017. He has amassed 75 international caps and was selected in England's squads for two FIFA World Cups and as many UEFA European Championships. An interesting statistics relating Joe Hart is of players to have played at least 500 minutes in the 2017-18 Premier League season, Joe Hart made an error leading to an opposition goal more frequently than anybody else (one every 428 minutes), according to OptaJoe.

Speaking on the exclusion, head coach Southgate said, "With Joe, we’ve got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons and the decision I was faced with was do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group? Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance?"

Other players who were not selected: Adam Lallana, Chris Smalling, Ryan Bertrand, Jermain Defoe, Jonjo Shelvey, Ross Barkley, Fraser Forster, Luke Shaw, Aaron Cresswell, Nathaniel Clyne, Danny Drinkwater, Theo Walcott

Injured Players: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez

“We’ve also had a couple of injuries with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, which is a huge blow for them personally and disappointing for us,” said Southgate.

Verdict: An inexperienced squad or a potential squad?

The 23 players have just 449 caps between them - an average of 19.5, according to Telegraph UK.

They also have just three major tournament goals between the lot of them: Danny Welbeck at Euro 2012, and Jamie Vardy and Eric Dier at Euro 2016.

With Wayne Rooney missing from action after announcing retirement from international football, can England find a new leader?