England World Cup Squad Odds: Who Will Make Gareth Southgate’s Team For Qatar 2022?

England manager Gareth Southgate will need to disappoint several in-form players when he names his 26-man World Cup squad this week.

UK Betting sites have released odds on who will board the plane to Qatar, and they suggest that some stars face an uphill struggle to make the cut.

We have rounded up the players that are all but guaranteed a place in the squad, those that will be nervously awaiting a call and the long-shots that could still muscle their way into contention.

Goalkeepers

Southgate will take three goalkeepers to Qatar, and we are highly unlikely to see any surprises in this department.

Jordan Pickford is likely to remain England’s No.1, with Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope serving as understudies.

Pickford is priced at just 1/25 with football betting sites to make the squad, while Ramsdale and Pope are both 1/16 to get the call.

The outsider in this market is Dean Henderson at 7/2, but he has not really done enough at Nottingham Forest this season to warrant an inclusion ahead of Ramsdale or Pope.

The Dead Certs

Eight players are priced at just 1/12 with BetVictor to make the squad: Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Declan Rice, Harry Kane, Harry Maguire and Aaron Ramsdale.

Four famous names – Jordan Pickford, Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell – are 1/10. Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bukayo Saka are also heavy, odds-on favourites on World Cup betting sites.

You will also find very short odds on Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, Marcus Rashford, Reece James and Jadon Sancho. Then things start to get interesting.

Defenders

Newcastle captain Kieran Trippier will be one of the first names on Southgate’s list. The former Spurs and Atlético Madrid star is experienced and versatile, while fellow full-backs have been dropping like flies in the build-up to the tournament.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell are out injured, but Southgate is likely to risk including Kyle Walker in the hope that he recovers from a knock to boost the chances of one the favourites in the World Cup betting odds. 

The manager has not been particularly lavish in his praise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the Liverpool man is also likely to be on the plane, along with Luke Shaw.

Ben White has impressed at right-back for Arsenal this season, and his versatility makes him a 1/4 favourite to board the plane.

At centre-back, Southgate is likely to stick with John Stones and Harry Maguire, ignoring the latter’s questionable club form, while Eric Dier (1/20) and Conor Coady (1/4) are all but certain to make the cut.

Then things get interesting. Southgate is expected to pick another centre-back, and it appears to be a toss-up between AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori (Evens) and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi at 5/4 with new betting sites. 

It is hard to ignore Tomori’s form for the Serie A champions, and he looks well-priced to make the cut.

Longer shots in the full-back department include James Justin (7/4) and Dan Burn (2/1), while Liverpool’s Joe Gomez is priced at 3/1. 

Tyrone Mings, who started for England in their opener at last summer’s Euros, has drifted out to 12/1.

Midfielders

Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice formed a very solid midfield partnership for England as they finished runners-up at the Euros last year.

Phillips is currently injured, but the Man City midfielder is on the road to recovery and he is 4/6 to make the squad, while Rice is 1/20.

However, neither man is a guaranteed starter. Jude Bellingham has been in blistering form for Borussia Dortmund, and the teenage sensation recently became the youngest captain in Bundesliga history. That’s why he is 1/25 in this market.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (1/6) is highly likely to be involved, as he brings leadership qualities to the squad and he is a reliable performer.

If Southgate wants to take another deep-lying midfielder, it appears to be another straight scrap, this time between Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus Cheek and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse, who are both priced at 5/4 with BetVictor, as Conor Gallagher has drifted out to 5/1.

Attacking Midfielders/Wingers

This is an area in which England are stacked with talent, leaving Southgate to make some very difficult decisions.

Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount are all but guaranteed to make the squad, and they are each priced at just 1/25 by betting apps.

There has been heated debate about whether Raheem Sterling should make the cut, given his struggles at Chelsea this season. However, he has always delivered for Southgate, and he is 1/20 to get the call.

Jack Grealish has also been inconsistent, but England’s most expensive footballer has the quality to unlock defences in tight games, and he is 1/12.

There is likely to be room for one more player in this department. Jarrod Bowen has struggled to replicate the form he displayed last season, so the West Ham winger has moved out to 2/1.

Man Utd’s Jadon Sancho is priced at 4/5, but he has fallen behind Leicester playmaker James Maddison (8/11) in the betting.

Sancho is an out-and-out winger, whereas Maddison is more akin to Mount and Grealish. The Leicester man has been magnificent this season, and it will be difficult for Southgate to leave him out, so 8/11 looks like a good price.

Strikers

England captain Harry Kane will lead the Three Lions into battle at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

There is no danger of him facing the axe, and he is priced at 1/25, along with Bellingham, Mount, Foden, Saka and Pickford.

Marcus Rashford appears to have done enough for Man Utd this season to warrant inclusion in the 26-man squad. 

He can play down the middle or on the flank, so he is another versatile player, and he is priced at 1/8 to make the squad.

Southgate will need to choose a couple more strikers, and he has a deep pool of talent at his disposal. 

That includes Roma’s Tammy Abraham (4/7), Newcastle striker Callum Wilson (4/6), Brentford’s Ivan Toney (10/11) and Everton’s Dominic Calvert Lewin (16/1).

We could not decide who should make the cut, so we sought expert advice from former England star Emile Heskey.

“You have to obviously take Harry Kane to the World Cup,” Heskey told Gambling.com. 

“After him, I would bring Tammy Abraham next. Then if I’m honest – and admittedly I’d be a little worried about his injuries – but then I’d go with Callum Wilson. 

“I’d bring Wilson because he offers a different challenge than the other two. He offers you that pace in behind a defence. He is not the same old, same old up front. 

“If you need a change with 15 minutes to go and you put Tammy on, he’s probably going to give you the same as what Kane did. But, if you put Wilson on, he is going to give you something completely different to the other two.”