Maguire, Stones, Tomori, Guehi: Who is England's best centre-back?

The 2022 World Cup is just months away and that means preparation is about to be stepped up a notch.

England fans, for once, will go into the tournament brimming with confidence after their last two wildly successful international campaigns.

A semi-final defeat at the hands of Croatia in the 2018 World Cup, followed by a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out loss to Italy in the final of Euro 2020 demonstrate clear progress – could they go one better in Qatar?

We certainly hope so. Although, assessing the abundance of attacking quality at national teams like Brazil and France paints a frightening picture for any rival.

In order to have a chance, England will need to achieve the level of defensive solidarity that permitted them to concede just two goals at the Euros, whilst also finding some added attacking spark at the other end.

First things first, though, let’s concentrate on the basics. Much has changed since the Three Lions last walked out at a major tournament after all.

Players have improved, form has declined, new options have become available. Are Harry Maguire and John Stones still England’s two banker centre-back options? Not quite…

Standing 6ft 4inches from the ground, Mings is a physically imposing centre-back that can dominate many attackers on his day.

The Aston Villa man has also been capped by England 17 times and scored twice, demonstrating an obvious goal threat.

Although, a rather inconsistent season at club level has seen Mings miss out on Gareth Southgate’s most recent England squad, despite being a mainstay since his first inclusion in 2019.

Now aged 29, it seems Coady has been steadily developing as a footballer year on year.

He certainly isn’t the most flashy of modern central defenders, but