The Preparations of the England Team for the Upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar

We are only four weeks away from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and one team who will be staking a claim to the trophy in Qatar is England. Since replacing Sam Allardyce as manager in September 2016, Gareth Southgate has led the England squad to their first World Cup semifinal since 1990, with the Three Lions beating Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden and losing to Croatia in extra time. Three years later, he led them to their first international final since 1966, with England beating Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine and Denmark before losing to Italy in Wembley.

From the 26 players who made up England's Euro 2020 squad, none have retired from international duty, whilst various players like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka have merely gone up another level over the past 15 months. However, there are plenty of England players who could miss out on the tournament in Qatar due to injury.

England have arguably the strongest depth at right back of any country in world football, but two other their best options -- Reece James and Kyle Walker -- are in a race against time to be fit for Qatar. Nevertheless, Southgate is able to choose from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, and Ben White -- who has shined at the unnatural right back position for Arsenal since being moved out of central defense this season.

Another fitness doubt is Kalvin Phillips. After leading Leeds to promotion in 2019/20 under Marcelo Bielsa, Kalvin became the third player in the 21st century to represent the England national team without making a top-flight appearance after Jack Butland and Wilfried Zaha. 10 months after making his debut, Kalvin emerged as a vital performer in Southgate's double pivot alongside Declan Rice, with his performances seeing him win England's 2020–21 Men's Player of the Year.