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England Squad For World Cup Qualifiers Ranked From ‘World Class’ To ‘Dire Selection’
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Gareth Southgate's squad for England's World Cup qualifiers has been ranked, with Harry Kane in 'World Class' while Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is labelled 'Overrated'.
The 2021 squad for England's three matches in March contained some surprises - no Trent Alexander-Arnold - but it's all the players in the squad that have been ranked via TierMaker.
Kane's sublime form for Tottenham and England have made him one of Europe's best strikers and he's joined in 'World Class' by Raheem Sterling. Any attacking player so highly rated for so long by Pep Guardiola deserves top ranking.
Just below that duo are Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker who are ranked 'Elite'. Walker for his long-running spot in a superb Manchester City side, Foden because he deserves a place even above the 'Rising Stars' in the tier below. He's simply that good.
The players in 'Overrated' aren't bad footballers. But Maguire and Ben Chilwell have struggled so far to live up to their massive price tags at Man United and Chelsea, while Kieran Trippier seems an odd choice above Alexander-Arnold.
'Underrated' contains Luke Shaw and John Stones - two players who were being written off as flops for their clubs, before they both spectacularly turned their form around this season.
Jesse Lingard is showing signs he's not just a figure of fun at West Ham, while Sam Johnstone has quietly had an impressive season behind a terrible West Brom defence.
Some of England's best young talent sits in 'Rising Stars': all four outfield players are 22 or younger and all show huge potential. Dean Henderson has had his struggles when picked for Man United, but the talent is there to make a top goalkeeper.
Unfortunately, the strangest selection seems to be Eric Dier. He's performed well for England in the past - so it's hard to criticise Southgate for showing loyalty.
But he in no way looks like an international-class centre-back right now and he's been struggling to find his best form for Tottenham for some time, no matter where he's picked. Here's hoping he can recapture his best days and leave us with rancid egg all over our faces.
SPORTbible's full TierMaker ranking is below.
World Class: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling
Elite: Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker
Rising Star: Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Dean Henderson
Underrated: Jesse Lingard, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Sam Johnstone
Solid: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Ward-Prowse, Reece James, Kalvin Phillips, Ollie Watkins, Nick Pope, Conor Coady
Overrated: Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell
Dire Selection: Eric Dier
Absolutely spot-on or does this ranking need serious revision? Let us know in the comments.
All imagery: PA Images/TierMaker
Topics: England, Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane
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