The biggest omissions from England's 2022 World Cup squad
By Max Parsons
On Thursday afternoon, Gareth Southgate announced the 26 players he is taking to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup - the squad who will battle it out on the biggest stage of all for their country.
The England boss raised a few eyebrows with some of his choices, such as the inclusions of Conor Coady and Conor Gallagher, while also appeasing a significant section of the Three Lions faithful by picking in-form Leicester man James Maddison, despite not initially being expected to.
While their dreams were made, however, many other hopefuls were left out of Thursday's spotlight.
Here are the biggest omissions from England's World Cup squad...
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Fikayo Tomori
Infuriating, rather than surprising, is probably the best way to describe Southgate's latest omission of Fikayo Tomori from the Three Lions camp.
The Milan centre-back has developed into one of Serie A's best defenders over the past couple of years, demonstrating brilliant awareness and ability on the back foot as well as staggering speed.
His crucial contribution to Milan's resurgence, as they earned a 2nd-placed finish in 2020/21 before then winning the Scudetto last campaign, hasn't been enough for him to earn a regular spot in Southgate's plans. He did play 88 minutes of England's 0-0 draw with Italy in June but didn't feature at all in the September internationals despite being in the squad.
Marc Guehi
Marc Guehi has come to the fore since his transfer to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021, assuming the armband during an exciting transitional period for the club.
His impressively solid performances for the Eagles have seen him pick up three caps throughout 2022, including two in June. Like Tomori, however, the Palace skipper was an unutilised member of the September camp and, with Coady's inclusion in the World Cup squad, has been left at home.
James Ward-Prowse
There was a lot of competition for the midfield spots in Southgate's World Cup squad, and the ever-so-slightly questionable inclusions of Kalvin Phillips and Gallagher left no room for James Ward-Prowse.
The Southampton skipper, despite underwhelming in 2022/23 thus far, would have harboured hope of going to his first World Cup tournament, having been selected for all three camps prior to the competition and being renowned for his set-piece ability.
Jarrod Bowen
Jarrod Bowen's form has also been anticlimactic since the start of the season. A standout performer for West Ham throughout the 2021/22 campaign, the forward was held in high regard by those predicting Southgate's select list, but the 25-year-old will not feature in Qatar.
Earning his debut for the Three Lions in June, Bowen has four caps to his name - in none of which have England come out victorious - but, after not playing a minute during the September internationals, the Hammers man has been left out altogether this time around.
Tammy Abraham
Tammy Abraham might have really been expecting a call-up to this winter's World Cup. After a blistering 2021/22 campaign in which he netted 17 times in Serie A and 9 further times in Europe, the striker hasn't been among the goals for Roma in quite the same way so far in 2022/23.
Southgate highlighted that drop off and has elected to take just one out-and-out striker to deputise for Harry Kane, in the form of fellow in-form frontman Callum Wilson.
Ivan Toney
Wilson's inclusion has also put an abrupt end to Ivan Toney's World Cup dream. The Brentford beast's career's upward trajectory hit a new height last season as the striker adapted seamlessly to life in England's top flight after the Bees' promotion to the Premier League.
Having started the 2022/23 campaign even stronger than where he left off before the summer break, Toney might have been banking on Southgate reading out his name, especially after a maiden international call-up in September. Wilson's first selection in three years, however, has dictated otherwise - to the bemusement of Brentford boss Thomas Frank.
Other notable omissions from England's World Cup squad
There was talk of Southgate potentially taking four goalkeepers to Qatar, with Dean Henderson's impressive showings providing a headache, although the England boss has gone with the expected trio of Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale as his shot-stopping options.
Tyrone Mings has once again gone without a call-up and will be absent from the 2022 World Cup, while Coady's inclusion sees no room for fellow Everton centre-back James Tarkowski despite his impressive early-season form.
Luke Shaw represents England's only left-sided defensive option after Ben Chilwell was sadly ruled out by injury prior to the tournament which - despite Kieran Trippier's ability to play on the left flank - perhaps makes the omission of twice-capped Tyrick Mitchell, who has started the campaign excellently with Crystal Palace, a topic of contention.
Ward-Prowse is certainly the biggest absentee from the midfield contingent in the Three Lions squad, although Ruben Loftus-Cheek might have been at least subtly hopeful of being selected for a second World Cup appearance, while Jadon Sancho's omission represents another big-name absence.