Three Lions 8-1 for World Cup glory after unveiling of 26-man squad

James Maddison, whose selection had been the subject of intense speculation given his form for Leicester this season, will go to the World Cup after Gareth Southgate announced his 26-man squad for Qatar.

It was bad news, however, for Ivan Toney, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, who all missed out on a place in the final 26.

Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford will be the back-up striking options to Harry Kane, with the pair making their first appearances for England since 2019 and 2020 respectively if they feature.

Kalvin Phillips, who has played just 57 minutes of senior football this season after struggling with a shoulder injury, was selected along with fellow Manchester City teammate Kyle Walker, who is also recovering from a groin problem.

With Reece James set to miss out through injury, Walker is 6-5 to start England’s opener against Iran, which would be his first competitive football since early October.

Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier is 1-50 to start that encounter, and the Magpies full-back will also have to function as back-up to Luke Shaw on the left side of defence after Ben Chilwell was ruled out by injury.

Perhaps the biggest surprise inclusion was Conor Gallagher, who was preferred over James Ward-Prowse and will make his fifth appearance for his nation if he features in the tournament.

Southgate’s reluctance to make wholesale changes to the squad that reached the final of the European Championships last summer was clear. Barring those forced out by by injury, just four of the 26 that contested Euro 2020 miss out this time.

The Three Lions are a best priced 8-1 with to lift the trophy and 3-10 to win their opener against Iran, which kicks off at 1pm on Monday November 21.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A 65" TV

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport