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FIFA World Cup 2022 Preview: Is This Southgate’s England’s Last Chance?

2022 is here, and with it comes the latest iteration of the global phenomenon that is the FIFA Soccer World Cup. This year’s tournament takes place in the Middle East for the first time, as the Gulf state of Qatar creates history by bringing the World Cup to another new region. This year’s FIFA World Cup also takes place in the winter, the first World Cup not to take place in the summer in 90 years of play.

One of the favorites to win the competition is a 5th-ranked England side that has had an incredibly successful few years under the tutelage of former player Gareth Southgate. With a young, blossoming team who are coming into their own, and players at a host of top clubs in the English Premier League and clubs around Europe, this could be England’s best chance yet to win their first World Cup since the legendary triumph of 1966.

Read on to find out all you need about England’s squad, history, and tournament schedule for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

England National Soccer Team

England’s national soccer team is one of the most well-known and highly-regarded teams in the world and is often cited as the “home of soccer” due to the fact that organized soccer originated there in the 1800s. Nicknamed the ‘Three Lions’, England has been present at almost every World Cup since its inception, and the team has boasted a number of world-class and world-famous players over the years. England also hosted the World Cup once, in 1966.
History

England has a rich history, both for its club soccer teams and its national soccer team. The list of soccer triumphs and heartbreaks is endless, and some of these memories are etched in the national consciousness in a way that will not be forgotten for many years. They have historically been a strong team on the national stage, but have famously lost on penalties many times in big matches in the World Cup and European Championships.

Greatest achievements

Undoubtedly the greatest achievement in England’s national soccer team’s history is the 1966 World Cup win on home soil. They beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time, and the match has gone down in English folklore and is constantly talked about when a new World Cup approaches.

England has never reached another World Cup final, but their closest efforts were in 1990 when they lost a painful semi-final match to West Germany on penalties, and most recently in 2018 when Croatia stunned England to win 2-1 after extra time.

England did reach the 2020 European Championships final, losing to Italy on penalties, and it seems that Gareth Southgate’s appointment as manager has led England closer and closer to the glory that the nation has craved for so long.

Notable players

England’s national soccer team has had a plethora of talented players over the years, but their ‘Golden Generation’ of the mid-2000s has to rank as one of the most talented squads England has ever had, even though they only managed to reach three quarter-finals and didn’t even qualify for the 2008 European Championships.

Legendary defenders John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, and Gary Neville, alongside an outstanding midfield quartet of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes, should have performed much better than they did. Add a prime Wayne Rooney and a Ballon d’Or-winning Michael Owen, and England should have been reaching finals with regularity.

Other than those legends of the sport, the likes of Gary Linekar and Alan Shearer dominated the 90s game, and current star striker Harry Kane is the closest England has to a genuine world-class talent at the moment.

Jersey

England’s 2022 World Cup jersey is a mixture of the classic white shirt and a calming blue strip at the top of the shirt, which blends a number of different shades of blue for a classy look. Shirt sponsor Nike went for a traditional look that will appease England fans the world over.

Trivia

Did you know that England did not take part in the FIFA World Cup until 1950? England’s Soccer Association thought it would be unfair if the country that invented the organized version of the sport took part in the World Cup, so they decided to abstain from the competition until other countries got better. Who knows, if they had decided to play from the beginning, they could have won multiple World Cups by now!

Squad

The current England squad is bursting with young, technical talent playing at a high level for their respective clubs. The most notable player is Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who has been scoring goals for fun this season, both in the Premier League and in the European Champions League. But alongside him, Dortmund wonderkid Jude Bellingham has been lighting up the German Bundesliga for the last two years, and with the pace of Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho on the wings, England’s counterattacking threat is nothing to take lightly.

Manchester City wizard Phil Foden has come on leaps and bounds in the last years, and he is now one of the most technically gifted players in the world, and definitely in England’s history. He will have competition from Chelsea’s Mason Mount and City teammate Jack Grealish, but he should be starting for this England side.

Add a simply ridiculous amount of talent at right-back, with Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, and Reece James all vying for a starting spot, and England will feel confident in their squad for this tournament.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Preview

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is going to be a stern test of England’s credentials, and the number of factors that could affect player performance makes this truly a step into the unknown. Will the mid-season World Cup benefit England’s players, as they won’t be burned out, or will they not be accustomed to playing such intense football at this stage of the season? Will the sudden change in climate help England or the other teams? There are a lot of questions left to be answered.

Qualifiers

England’s national soccer team qualified for the World Cup with ease, winning eight out of their ten qualifying games and drawing the other two. An unbeaten qualifying campaign isn’t unusual for England sides of the past, and the tough part has always been in the tournaments, but it’s not a bad sign to finish unbeaten against teams like Poland and Hungary.

Match 1: vs. Iran

England kick off their World Cup campaign on the 21st of November against a 20th-ranked Iran side who have looked slightly worse in recent games than their plucky World Cup 2018 campaign, where they drew with soccer giants Spain and put up a good fight against Portugal. Iran qualified relatively easily for the World Cup, and they will be optimistic of a similarly good showing this time around, but England have the firepower to win this without too much difficulty.

Match 2: vs. USA

Memories of a horror mistake from England goalkeeper Rob Green when England drew against the USA 1-1 in World Cup 2010 will undoubtedly come to the fore when the two teams meet again on the 25th of November in the second match of the group stages. USA are ranked a respectable 16th in the FIFA rankings, and they do have some very talented players like Christian Pulisic and Giovani Reyna in their side who can pose a threat. England’s team should win this game, but they will have to be wary of a quick counter-attack by USA’s fast attack.

Match 3: vs. Wales

A match against their neighbors, England and 19th-ranked Wales have never met in the World Cup before. In fact, this is only Wales’s second appearance at the World Cup after reaching the quarter-finals of the 1958 competition before being beaten by eventual winners Brazil 1-0. When they meet on the 29th of November, England will have to be careful of Wales legends Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, who fired them to World Cup qualification. England are rightly favorites, but this is probably the most dangerous match of Group B for them.

Possible knockout stage

If England manage to get through the tricky Group B and qualify as winners, they will most probably come up against an Ecuador side who have caused problems for other big sides in the past. However, England should be favorites to progress to the quarter-finals, where a strong France team seeking to defend their World Cup title could await them.

England would not be favorites for this match, but if they do manage to triumph, then any of Belgium, Germany, or Portugal could be the giants they would have to face in the semi-finals, and then a multitude of huge soccer nations in the final.

This will be a tough World Cup for England to win, but with recent successes and a young, talented squad, the nation will be quietly hopeful that they can go at least one better than 2018 and reach the final, if not win the whole thing.