The dominance of Roy Hodgson’s team over a squad with the top 23 players at the World Cup is reason for celebration for England fans.
Steven Gerrard, the captain of England, and Daniel Sturridge, a teammate at Liverpool, are both named to the all-star team. Leighton Baines of Everton and Adam Lallana, the Premier League’s breakout star, are also selected. Due to the inclusion of those four players, England is the nation with the most players in the team.
Here is to identify the players set to light up football’s biggest stage.
Forwards
The four forwards are what will most excite football fans, despite the squad’s undeniable strength. The first three players are expected, since Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo have combined for 90 league goals this season, or around one goal per game. The fantastic news for England supporters is that Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has joined them. Sturridge enters the World Cup in incredible form, having scored 22 league goals this season, or one goal every 103 minutes and 24 seconds.
Wingers
One of Roy Hodgson’s more recent hires makes the team among the top wide players at the World Cup. With 69 successful dribbles and 26 successful crosses this season, Adam Lallana has had a phenomenal Premier League season and enters the competition as its second-most in-form winger. England will face a difficult test against Italy’s Antonio Candreva, who has 12 goals, 99 completed dribbles, and 38 successful crosses this season.
Centre Midfielders
Though the Premier League season ended in misery for England captain Steven Gerrard, his outstanding play for Liverpool earned him a spot in our list of the Best 23 Players at the World Cup. On Saturday, he will face Italian Marco Parolo, who has 56 interceptions this year. Parolo is the better defensive player, but Gerrard leads in goals, assists, and passes.
Centre Backs
While Ronaldo is expected to score for Portugal this summer, Pepe, a towering defender for Real Madrid, will also be crucial to their success. In contrast, versatile defender Sergio Ramos is the only member of Spain’s 23-man roster. Spain is the current World Champions. Ramos, who made his senior Spain debut at age 18 and has since earned 116 caps, is just as important to his country as he is to Real Madrid. He enters the World Cup in excellent form, with a remarkable tackles won percentage of 88.24%.
Full Backs
Leighton Baines may have had to wait a while to compete in his first major championship as England’s starting left back, but he’s ready to seize the moment as one of the competition’s most effective full backs. With 82.46% of his tackles won and 844 passes in the offensive half this season, Baines has excelled on both offense and defense. Also considered as a potential successor for Bacary Sagna at Arsenal this summer is Ivory Coast and Toulouse player Serge Aurier.
Goalkeepers
Sturridge and Lallana will be itching to score at the World Cup, but they might find it more difficult than they anticipated because two of our team’s three goalkeepers are in England’s group. Gianluigi Buffon, the most capped player in Italian history, is ranked second on the list of saves made per goal allowed, and Keylor Navas of Costa Rica is a surprising inclusion in third place with 4.1 saves per goal. Jasper Cillessen of Ajax, who is the best goalkeeper at the World Cup, beats Michel Vorm and Tim Krul of the Premier League to the number one jersey for Holland.
Player to Watch
Currently playing as a center forward for Tottenham Hotspur is Harry Kane.
In five previous seasons, he has scored 20 or more Premier League goals. This season, he has six goals in seven games. Last season, he had 27 goals and 10 assists across all competitions and a more proven Premier League commodity.
Kane is also regarded as one of the top strikers in the world and is well known for his ability to combine plays and prolific goal-scoring record. He ranks as the third-highest Premier League striker of all time and the second-highest goal scorer of all time for Tottenham.
