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All eyes in English football turned to Gareth Southgate today as he confirmed England's squad for the forthcoming World Cup in Qatar. With so many English players horribly out of form at the moment (Harry Maguire in particular coming in for heavy criticism) and 2 of our most exciting wing backs out injured (Ben Chilwell and Reece James), there's an opportunity for a few of the in-form, fringe players to stake a claim. 2 players in particular stood out amongst the English fans and if James Maddison in particular had not been included, there would most certainly have been uproar (spoiler alert: he's in the squad). The other name who also made it was Callum Wilson - knowing Gareth Southgate though, we're unlikely to see either player in the starting XI (a lot like Jack Grealish at the Euros last year) and we're more likely to see them having an impact off the bench.

So here are my thoughts on the announced squad, broken down by BBC's positions. Before diving in though, my cover image is the squad from 4 years ago - notable figures include Ashley Young (now 37 years old but amongst the 55 man shortlist), Jesse Lingard (now struggling to get into Nottingham Forest's team) and Dele Alli - a player that has gone from one of England's best young talents to somebody you wouldn't mind lining up against on a Sunday morning.

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Goalkeepers

I don't think there are any great surprises here. Jordan Pickford will be our starting keeper and despite my expectation and fear that he's got a clanger in him, he's got away with it so far for England and been quite reliable. There's a cockyness about him that I don't like but perhaps that helps with his performances.

I'm pleased to see Nick Pope included - he's been a consistently top performing goalkeeper since becoming a regular at Burnley (despite missing a season and briefly losing his place to Tom Heaton). I'm also fairly pleased to see Aaron Ramsdale included - he's still very young (24) in Goalkeeping terms and I feel that it's only a matter of time before he makes himself England's No. 1.

Defenders

Normally, Southgate likes to name as many right backs as he can but with Reece James ruled out through injury and Kyle Walker having been out with injury since the beginning of October (an injury he's still carrying), I thought that he might be forced into leaving a few at home and picking more than one left back. But alas no, Southgate would rather pick an injured right back rather than take more than one left back - Walker being amongst the lucky four right backs.

On paper, this guarantees Luke Shaw the left back role but Southgate likes to put Trippier there sometimes (ensuring we start with 3 right backs in random positions). Trent Alexander-Arnold's inclusion is and isn't a surprise. He's had a terrible season and Southgate doesn't like playing him so I suspect his inclusion is to increase the number of right backs that he takes.

At centre back, it looks weak to me. Maguire's having a shocker this season but Southgate loves him. Connor Coady doesn't scream "World Cup winner" and since we tend to play 3 centre backs, it means 3 from Coady, Maguire, Stones, Dier and White. Although Ben White's been playing most of the season at right back and has had a good season so far. Being a right back has worked in his favour (Alexander-Arnold, Trippier, Walker and White all primarily being right backs this season).

Midfielders

Perhaps the strangest name in the squad is Kalvin Phillips. He had a great tournament at Euro 2020 but he's spent the entire of this season injured so there's no way he'll be up to match pace. I loved his inclusion and contribution at the Euros and his inclusion here can only be because of that - he's played 1 minute of Premier League football since then!!

The worse for me though is Jordan Henderson. I have absolutely no idea what he contributes on the pitch and I can assume that his inclusion is as a cheerleader. Apparently he's a leader so he'll help to lead the players to and from the canteen. I'd rather see Micah Richards in this role.

We've got 6 players here essentially competing for 2 starting spots. I'm assuming that Declan Rice will take one and it's probably Bellingham who'll get the other. James Maddison's listed as a forward but he's another midfielder really, so maybe that's 7. The balance in the squad doesn't look right and the lack of options at centre back concerns me.

I'm pleased for Conor Gallagher but I don't think he'll get any game time.

Forwards

This is where the England team looks exciting on paper. I love to watch the likes of Foden, Grealish, Saka and Rashford run with the ball - They're all very exciting players and one of them will probably start each game. Of the four, Saka will probably get the most game time and much like the Euros, we'll be desperately calling for more of them to be on the pitch. Despite having been terrible for many years now, Raheem Sterling will take a spot on the opposite wing with Harry Kane through the middle.

How We're Likely to Line Up

We're likely to play with 8 defensive players and 3 in attack. Hoping to bore the opposition to sleep and sneaking a goal before they wake up. If they don't fall asleep, we might be able to grind out a 0-0 and because we're historically terrible at penalties, we'll get knocked out. If we do make the mistake of scoring early, we'll try to defend the lead and inevitably go on to lose in the most disappointing way possible.

How I'd Like Us to Line Up

Now this is much more interesting. Foden and Grealish flanking Maddison is oozing creativity. In the easier games, Shaw and Trippier can overlap with Grealish and Foden cutting inside. We could even do this in the more difficult games with Bellingham and Rice shielding the centre backs - they'll need all the help they can get. With Saka, Rashford and Wilson injecting additional pace off the bench, it'd be a lively side. The likes of Maguire, Henderson and Sterling can get their pom poms out and do a job on the sidelines.

This is without doubt the most controversial World Cup in history and I am expecting an early exit for the 3 lions. I read today that our form going into the World Cup (3 draws and 3 losses) is the worst going into any tournament in our history. I can only hope that if things go badly for us, Southgate will be gone and we'll employ a manager who utilises the immense attacking talent that we possess. And he can find his managerial level somewhere in the lower tiers of English football.