Eric Dier is set to be named in England’s World Cup squad with the Tottenham Hotspur defender now considered to be a ‘definite’.
There is still one more round of Premier League action to go but the attention is quickly turning to the World Cup.
Football’s biggest showpiece event starts later this month in Qatar and national are naming their squads.
England’s squad will be announced later today with Gareth Southgate facing some tough decisions on his 26-man party.
Eric Dier is set to be named in England’s World Cup squad
It sounds like Leicester City playmaker James Maddison won’t be making the squad and neither will AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori.
There are big decisions to come up front with Ivan Toney, Callum Wilson and Tammy Abraham all battling for a spot.
With Tomori not being selected, England’s centre back picture looks little clearer.
John Stones and Harry Maguire will be selected and Everton’s Conor Coady looks a strong bet to be taken too.
Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett now claims that Southgate has 20 ‘definites’ in his squad with six places up for grabs.
Big names like Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka are of course in those definites.
Kane will be joined by another Tottenham player as defender Eric Dier is now considered too be certain of a place in the England squad.
Dier, 28, has racked up 47 caps for England but there was a time when some would have been surprised by this inclusion.
Before playing 90 minutes against Italy and Germany in September, Dier hadn’t been in an England matchday squad since March 2021.
Dier missed out on the whole of Euro 2020 and England’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Yet having rebuilt his career under Antonio Conte at Tottenham – and shown his ability in a three-man defence – Dier has forced his way back into Southgate’s plans.
Whether Dier starts in Qatar remains to be seen but the Tottenham man can soon celebrate a great turnaround.
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