5 players who may not represent England in the World Cup

With less than three months to go for the 2018 World Cup, England's manager will soon have to decide who are the best and most deserving candidates to represent the nation in the upcoming competition.

England has been drawn into a relatively predictable group alongside Belgium. But in order to advance far, England will need to have depth in the squad. Having won just half of the games he has managed as of 20th March 2018, the Englishman desperately needs an improvement in results. His selection will greatly affect his future and England's reputation.

In such an instance, it is regrettable that some talented players may not be called up for the world competition held in June. Here are five players who may not make it into Southgate's team.

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#5 Joe Hart

Joe Hart has been named in the squad for the friendlies

For a long period of time, Hart had been recognised as the first choice goalkeeper for Manchester City and the England team. His confidence dropped when Pep Guardiola came in. After he was loaned to Torino, Hart never quite regained the form and confidence he had while playing at the Etihad Stadium.

His call-up to the squad for the upcoming friendly matches will be keenly observed by Southgate to determine if he still suits the team.

Loaned to West Ham this season, Hart has not had the best of time with the Hammers, making just 23 appearances in all competitions as of 20th March 2018. Most recently, he started against Burnley and conceded three goals. Since his loan spell with Torino, Hart has been at fault for quite a number of goals as his weaknesses have been exploited by the opponents.

With many young and rising goalkeepers eligible to represent England such as Jack Butland, Nick Pope and Jordan Pickford, Hart faces a huge and stiff competition ahead. The England manager may be tempted to include new and fresh faces on the team instead.

#4 Danny Welbeck

Welbeck will be involved in the upcoming friendlies for England

Welbeck's call-up came as a surprise, but it shows that Southgate wants to give everyone an equal opportunity to shine for England. The Arsenal man has not scored for a long period of time until in his most recent match against Europa League rivals AC Milan.

For many seasons, the former Manchester United player has struggled with long-term injuries and a lack of fitness. That has severely limited his game time for Arsenal and England.

As compared to Jamie Vardy, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, Welbeck is arguably the least lethal forward. Although Welbeck offers pace, he lacks the sharpness that Southgate requires in world competitions.

At the same time, the Manchester-born player is not currently riding high on confidence. Even though he can play as a winger, the national team does not lack talented wingers. Hence, there is technically no space to bring Welbeck on board to Russia.

#3 Theo Walcott

Walcott joined Everton in January

For more than a decade, Walcott played for Arsenal. Many will know and admit that his career with the Gunners was somewhat underwhelming. With 270 appearances for the Gunners, he scored just 65 goals.

Similarly, for the England national team, Walcott made his debut in 2006, becoming the youngest ever senior football player at just 17 years of age. However, he represented England in just two major tournaments, namely the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012. He was left out of the 2010 World Cup by the manager then Fabio Capello. Again, Walcott was left out of Roy Hodgson's team for the World Cup in 2014.

Throughout his career, the former Arsenal man has had to battle with a plethora of injuries, which kept him from having a continuous run of games and consistent performances. After Gareth Southgate came into the team, Walcott has not been capable of impressing him either and as such, he was not called up for England's friendlies.

Walcott's most important asset is his pace. When with Arsenal, he was one of the fastest players and defenders could hardly match his speed. Unfortunately, as compared the rest of his national team-mates, there are others who are equally good with their pace and can contribute more to the game.

His contribution at Everton so far does not warrant him a call-up too, as he has scored just two goals in eight appearances for the club. While the standard of his future performances is still a mystery, Southgate is unlikely to give him a spot on board the plane to Russia.

#2 Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge starred against Southampton for West Brom

Sturridge joined struggling West Brom on loan from Liverpool. From January till date, he has played just 78 minutes of football as he fights his way to be injury free. The England national joined Liverpool in 2013 but has only made 98 appearances.

Like the former two players, the Birmingham born man is extremely injury prone and that has severely limited his potential. Repeated injuries from 2014 till now cost him plenty of opportunities to play for both Liverpool and England.

While his preference is playing as a centre-forward, England does not lack options in attack. The irregular number of appearances he has made every year is unable to give Southgate a good gauge of his capabilities and strengths.

Since his injuries, Sturridge has not been the player he used to be. He has become less quick, less sharp and definitely a lot less confident.

The England team requires players who are confident in their game skills and style of play. Including Sturridge in the team may cause him to suffer even more injuries and setbacks, and ultimately may not be beneficial for the team.

#1 Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley made his only Premier League appearance for Chelsea in the loss to Bournemouth

The former Everton played join Chelsea in a permanent deal in January. Highly rated as one of the brightest attacking midfielders of England, he has not quite lived up to the expectations set for him.

It has been a terrible start for Barkley and that has had a great impact on the possibility of him getting a call-up for the England squad. In his position, the likes of Dele Alli, Jack Wilshere and Adam Lallana can all do a better job than what he currently is offering.

Barkley is considered a young and inexperienced player given that he is just 24 years old. Despite first making his appearance for England in 2013, Barkley has just 22 caps under his name and still has a long way to go.

Barkley has excellent technique in his game and is able to contribute greatly when he is in form. If he does not rediscover his form soon, he will be left out of the 23 man squad playing in Russia.