I Love England

England national team coach Gareth Southgate has clarified that Joe Hart’s exclusion from the World Cup was influenced by the impressive form of several other young shot-stoppers from the Premier League. The Manchester City goalkeeper has been the Three Lions’ number one in the last three major tournaments but he won’t be involved this time around with Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and uncapped Nick Pope picked ahead of him in the World Cup.

Speaking after the decision, Southgate said: “With Joe, we've got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons and the decision I was faced with was do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group? Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance? "We felt the players all needed to be in on merit after their performances this season."

Former England international Jamie Redknapp has urged James Milner to rethink about his international prospects ahead of this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia. The 32-year-old called time on his Three Lions career shortly after Euro 2016 where he played just three minutes but he has since become a crucial figure with Liverpool.

Bournemouth striker and England international Jermain Defoe believes Jack Wilshere should be a certain starter for the Three Lions for this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia. The Arsenal midfielder has overcome his injury concerns during the current campaign, and this recently earned him a much-anticipated call-up to the Three Lions’ squad.

BBC pundit Chris Sutton has slated Gareth Southgate’s midfield options for England ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia. The Three Lions have found themselves short of quality talent at the heart of the midfield, and this has seen Southgate pick the likes of Jake Livermore, who has had a below-par season with West Bromwich Albion.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hailed the progress of Scott McTominay whilst suggesting that Alex McLeish should reward the midfielder with a maiden call-up to the Scotland national side. The 21-year-old has been integrated into the first-team squad this term, and he has already made 14 appearances in all competitions.

England may be playing in Russia this summer, but believe it or not, it’s not the only World Cup taking place this summer that football fans will be getting excited about.

Whilst the Women’s game may be making waves at the moment (not least with the news that Manchester United are set to launch their own Women’s team, and are committed to becoming one of the game’s superpowers in that too), it is the eSports FIFA World Cup Tournament that has caught the eye, with the FA having a nationwide competition to see who should represent England in a competition played to a similar format at the real World Cup.

Sky Sports Pundit Tony Gale believes Jack Wilshere is an 'absolute must' in the Gareth Southgate's England squad ahead of next summer's World Cup. The 26-year-old started the season as a regular in the Cup competitions, but an injury to Aaron Ramsey has enabled him to command a regular spot in the English top-flight.

Wilshere has started the last six Premier League games for the Gunners, and he recently netted his first goal of the season during last night's 2-2 draw versus Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Following the match, Wilshere stressed that he has yet to make any progress in regards to his contract expiring in six months' time, but he will nevertheless look to maintain his consistency on the playing field.

England international Marcus Rashford feels Manchester United have got the winning feeling back in them, although they are still far off from matching the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson. Rashford has had a dramatic rise to the United first-team, and he has bagged four trophies in the space of just 21 months.

Rashford celebrated FA Cup success under former coach Louis van Gaal in 2016 before claiming Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield winners' medals under current head coach Jose Mourinho. However, the young attacker wants to taste more success to match the feat achieved by Ferguson's team.

The draw for the 2018 FA Cup fifth round has been made and there are still top Premier League clubs chasing glory, while several lower league sides maintain their run in the world's oldest and most prestigious cup competition.

There were plenty of interesting match-ups drawn during the latest fifth-round pairings, with runaway English top-flight leaders Manchester City set to face Wigan Athletic in a repeat of the 2013 FA Cup final, in which the Sky Blues were stunned 1-0 by their local rivals.

England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that both Harry Kane and Harry Winks have been left out of the Three Lions squad, although they could be risked for next weekend's north London derby at Arsenal. The pair sustained knee and ankle injuries respectively playing for Spurs, and this has ruled them out of the friendlies versus Germany and Brazil.

Speaking to reporters, Southgate said, "Both Harry Kane and Harry Winks were scanned, they were clearly not available for us but Spurs may risk them for the North London derby. The players that are injured cannot play. I don’t take risks with players. It’s their livelihood, it’s their careers. As a manager you have a duty of care to the players."