England World Cup 2018 guide: Squad news, fixtures, group analysis and match dates

Harry Kane 
How far will England go in Russia? Credit: AFP

Who made England's 23-man squad?

Here's who will feature in England's World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley).

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Manchester United).

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).

Standby: Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jake Livermore (West Brom), James Tarkowski (Burnley).

Gareth Southgate decided to leave Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere at home and has picked a squad heavily-loaded with defenders, reflective of his desire to play with three centre-backs and wing-backs. Trent-Alexander-Arnold could win his first England in Russia while the inclusion of Ruben Loftus-Cheek also speaks to Southgate's bold approach. Harry Kane will captain the side

Now you know the squad, pick you England starting XI and formation: 

Who is in England's group? 

England are in Group G alongside Belgium, Tunisia and Panama.

Belgium: One of the favourites for the competition with a dazzling array of talent. England will be familiar with most of their key players: Thibuat Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku among others, all play in the Premier League. England's toughest opponent by a distance

Tunisia:  Potentially tricky opposition who will look to frustrate England. Were unbeaten in qualifying and Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri could be a danger man. Nevertheless, a team England should beat if they have aspirations to reach the latter stages.

Panama: One of the stories of the tournament, having qualified for the finals for the first time in dramatic fashion. England will be heavy favorites to swat them aside. 

When do England play?

Monday June 18

Tunisia vs England (Volgograd), 7pm BST.

Sunday June 24

England vs Panama (Nizhny Novgorod), 1pm BST.

Thursday June 28

England vs Belgium (Kaliningrad), 7pm BST.

Should England progress from their group, their last-16 match will be on Monday July 2 (if they win the group) or Tuesday July 2 (if they finish runners-up in the group). 

Should England progress beyond that stage, their quarter-final will either be: 

Friday 6 July

Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 - Kazan, 7pm BST. 

OR

Saturday 7 July

Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 - Samara, 3pm BST.

And the rest...

Semi-finals

Tuesday 10 July

Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 - St Petersburg, 7pm BST.

Wednesday 11 July

Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 - Moscow (Luzhniki), 7pm BST.

Third place play-off

Saturday 14 July

Loser match 61 vs Loser match 62 - St Petersburg, 3pm BST.

Final

Sunday 15 July

Moscow (Luzhniki), 4pm BST.

What happened in 2014?

England were eliminated in the group stages with just one point and two goals to show from their two games. They were beaten 2-1 by Italy in their opening game despite an encouraging performance, before Luis Suarez's goal confirmed their exit in the second match against Uruguay. A dead rubber against Costa Rica finished goalless. 

What has Gareth Southgate said?

“We are not a team in the relegation zone, worrying about what might happen and what we might lose. We have to have a positive mindset of how far can we go, and there’s a difference in the mentality and the feel of all that.

“I feel that the players we’ve picked are free, they’ve got a point to prove, they’re hungry. They’re not where they want to be yet. Talking to them individually they have loads they want to do in their careers.

“What gives me optimism? I see such exciting players coming through. Some of them, I don’t think they know how good they might be."

What are the odds on how far England will make it?

  • Group stage 5/1
  • Last-16 11/5
  • Quarter-final 11/5
  • Semi-final 5/1
  • Runner-up 10/1
  • Winner 18/1