England squad for the world cup

Gareth Southgate has confirmed who'll be joining him on the plane to the tournament in Qatar.

James Maddison and Callum Wilson are in England’s World Cup squad after Gareth Southgate handed the in-form pair their first international call-ups in three years.

With 11 days to go until the Three Lions kick-off their Group B campaign against Iran, the former defender has confirmed the 26-man group that will be travelling to the Gulf next week.

Southgate has largely stuck with the tried and tested, with the most eye-catching selections being Leicester attacking midfielder Maddison and Newcastle striker Wilson.

Maddison’s only England cap came as a substitute against Montenegro in November 2019 – the last squad four-cap Wilson was involved in.

There is a recall for rejuvenated Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, whose last cap came in the Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.

Here's the full list...

Goalkeepers - Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders - Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker and Ben White

Midfielders - Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice

Forwards - Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Callum Wilson

Meanwhile Gareth Southgate has told FIFA he will not be silenced and will be the one who decides if he speaks out on human rights issues at the World Cup.

Controversy has surrounded Qatar hosting the finals since they were awarded in 2010, with the country’s treatment of migrant workers and criminalisation of same-sex relationships among the issues which have caused the most concern.

Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, wrote to the association leaders of the 32 competing nations last week urging them not to “allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists”.

Southgate has been answering questions on the matter ever since he took over as England manager, while captain Harry Kane will wear an armband supporting the OneLove anti-discrimination campaign when he leads England out in Qatar.

With England flying out on Tuesday, Southgate will no doubt face further questions as the tournament progresses and, despite FIFA’s letter, he intends to continue answering them.

Asked if he was dismayed by the fact FIFA had asked national teams to only keep to football matters, he replied: “Disappointed – I’d be dismayed if it was something that I couldn’t do anything about.

“But frankly, I’ll choose if I’m going to speak or not and I’m pretty sure the players will as well. So I don’t think we’re necessarily going to be swayed by that communication.

“That said, we’ve also got to focus on the football, we’ve got to get the team right, we’ve got to make sure our energies are towards the football, but we will speak when asked, we will answer the questions, and rightly so.

“I’m really conscious of how much we can affect. I think we’ve made the requests that the FA has been asked to make by the human rights organisations, I think we’ve pushed that and I’m not sure there’s a lot more we can say that’s going to be new on those topics if I’m frank.

“But we are in a position where we do have some influence and we have tried to use that influence and a number of the players have across some really good causes in the recent past.

“So we won’t stop doing that, but there are moments also where we’ve got to make sure our focus is where it has to be as well.”

Southgate believes it is “highly unlikely” he will only be talking about football and does not envisage there will be an end to the conversations around Qatar’s record once the finals kick off on November 20.

“I think that’s highly unlikely,” he said.