2018 FIFA World Cup: 5 England players who should not be selected

With friendly matches against Holland and Italy coming up, England manager Gareth Southgate yesterday unveiled his latest Three Lions squad. There were a handful of new faces – Burnley duo James Tarkowski and Nick Pope, Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook and Swansea’s Alfie Mawson – but one big name was finally left out.

After losing form for Chelsea and no longer finding himself one of the first names on Antonio Conte’s teamsheet, former England captain Gary Cahill has been dropped from the squad. The England fanbase seems split on this – one half feeling his experience is needed, with the other half seeing him as a liability that’s finally been cut loose.

But Cahill isn’t the only experienced England player who, on recent form at least, probably shouldn’t be heading to Russia come the summer. Here are 5 other players that Gareth Southgate should probably consider leaving at home if he wants the Three Lions to succeed at this year's FIFA World Cup:

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#5 Joe Hart

After a terrible season at West Ham, Joe Hart's England career must be near its end

One of the oddest things about the current England squad is that Southgate has selected four goalkeepers – Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Nick Pope and Joe Hart. Perhaps the most curious thing about it is that Hart has been selected at all.

Hart has been England’s #1 since Euro 2012, but after a disastrous campaign at Euro 2016, it seemed like his time was finally up.

Forced out of Manchester City by Pep Guardiola, Hart spent last season on loan at Torino before moving to West Ham in another loan this season. And it’s not gone well for him. He’s made just 15 Premier League appearances all season and made numerous errors before being dropped in favour of Adrian in late November.

Hart made a return to league action last weekend, but subsequently had a stinker – conceding 3 goals against Burnley including one that was clearly his fault as he spilt a shot into the path of Chris Wood. So why is he in the England squad?

The argument would be for his experience, but Southgate simply can’t justify taking him to the tournament – not when he’s been in such poor form.

Nick Pope, in comparison, blows him away when it comes to stats – he’s kept 9 clean sheets in 26 Premier League appearances and has conceded more than one goal in a single match against only the league’s top four sides.

Butland and Pickford’s stats might not be quite as impressive but they’ve shown plenty of reasons why they belong between England’s sticks during the season. The World Cup squad is likely to include just three goalkeepers, and based on what we’ve seen this season, Hart shouldn’t be one of them.

#4 Jordan Henderson

It's sometimes tricky to work out exactly what Jordan Henderson brings to the England side

Another of Southgate’s captains in qualifying for the World Cup, it’s now becoming harder and harder to justify Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson a spot on the plane to Russia, let alone a spot in England’s starting line-up.

Despite being Liverpool’s club captain, Henderson has found himself surplus to requirements on key occasions this season, against Manchester United last weekend for instance and prior to that, in a key UEFA Champions League fixture against Sevilla. And if he’s expendable to his club, surely the same could be said for his country.

England fans have often questioned exactly what the role of Henderson should be in their side – under Southgate, who’s usually favoured a formation involving two central midfielders sitting behind Dele Alli and Harry Kane – as well as widemen like Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, Henderson has often played alongside Eric Dier.

The problem with this is that while Dier performs his defensive duties well, Henderson simply isn’t creative enough or quick enough with his passing to open up opposing defences. In his most recent England performances, for instance, his passing range was way off and he was clearly outshone by the newcomer Harry Winks.

With Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere now regularly starting for his club and hitting a decent vein of form, it makes far more sense for England to play him as the more creative midfielder alongside Dier. And beyond him, the likes of Lewis Cook, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Winks appear to offer far more than Henderson.

Despite his experience – three international tournaments – when it’s hard to see exactly what a player brings to a side then he probably shouldn’t be there, and thus Henderson shouldn’t be going to Russia.

#3 Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling's limited passing ability may hamper his World Cup chances

Another former England regular left out of Southgate’s current squad is Manchester United defender Chris Smalling. Southgate has stated that the door is still open for Smalling to return to the fold should he find form with his club, but anyone who has watched him play recently would probably tell you that he shouldn’t be going to the World Cup.

Criticised for years for his somewhat sloppy decision-making in central defence, it appeared that Smalling was turning a corner under Louis van Gaal in 2015/16, but since the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford last season, his improvement seems to have stalled out somewhat.

Instead, we’ve seen the return of Smalling as a liability, with perhaps the clearest example being his errors that led to a loss to Newcastle United in February. But the biggest problem for Smalling’s hopes of going to Russia might not be his own club form, but the impressive form of some of his rivals.

Southgate has already brought Harry Maguire and Joe Gomez into the England fold as he has stated his admiration for their passing ability, and now James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson have both been drafted in too, likely for both their passing ability and solid form this season.

When you add John Stones into the equation – another defender with better passing ability than Smalling – it suddenly becomes tricky for the Manchester United defender to warrant a spot in the squad.

And rightfully so, too – under Southgate it feels like the days of being selected for England due to the club you play for are long gone. These days you get in on talent and form, and Smalling hasn’t shown enough of either recently.

#2 Ashley Young

Ashley Young spent years in the international wilderness before his recent return, but shouldn't go to Russia

The addition of Ashley Young to the England squad has been praised by some fans as an indicator that Southgate is indeed following the form of the Premier League’s best homegrown players, and admittedly, Young has performed well in a new role as left-wing-back for Manchester United this season.

Prior to his recent recall, Young hadn’t played for England since 2013. Usually seeing a player return to the kind of form that got him into contention for the Three Lions in the first place would be a good thing, but when it comes to Young, there are a few issues to contend with.

Firstly, Young is 32 years old, and if he were to go to the World Cup as a wing-back, would likely sit behind both Danny Rose and perhaps even Ryan Bertrand in the pecking order. Which begs the question, is there any point in taking him?

Sure, he offers experience, but recent history suggests that less experienced England squads have done better at tournaments anyway. If it’s a squad place rather than a starting spot, then would it not be better for Southgate to be giving the chance to a potential star of the future like Ryan Sessegnon?

Secondly, despite his good form this season, Young is not a left-back by trade – he’s played the majority of his career as an attacking midfielder. We’ve seen players successfully adapt to new positions before, but it’d be worrying to have a makeshift defender like Young trying to cope with the world’s best attackers.

Young’s story is an admirable one and he arguably earned his England recall for the earlier friendlies with Germany and Brazil, but he probably shouldn’t be going to Russia come June.

#1 Jake Livermore

Jake Livermore has looked limited against better opposition for England

West Brom’s Jake Livermore was a surprising selection in one of Southgate’s earlier England squads but after making his first start for the Three Lions in their March 2017 loss to Germany, he’s practically been an ever-present and has picked up a further five caps for his country.

The ascension of Livermore may be looked back upon as being more important than it seemed, as it was the first indicator that Southgate was willing to look beyond the Premier League’s top clubs for talent, and could well have helped players like Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in their decision to leave larger clubs for smaller ones.

But unfortunately for the midfielder, when it comes to the very top level of football – the World Cup, for instance – he just feels too limited as a player to really make an impact.

Livermore was used in the central midfield role alongside Eric Dier in most of his England appearances, but this left the Three Lions lacking creativity, and with the likes of Jack Wilshere now back in the fold, it becomes harder for him to justify a place in the side.

As a squad member? Even that becomes tricky when you consider England have Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Harry Winks, Lewis Cook and possibly Chalobah (if he can regain fitness) in contention too. Livermore could deputise for Dier but the better option would be to use Wilshere as the holding man in that situation alongside someone like Chamberlain or Cook.

Like Ashley Young, you have to admire Livermore for his hard work and persistence and he certainly warranted a call-up back in March 2017, but his time has been and gone now and he shouldn’t be going to the World Cup.