Marcus Rashford and Fikayo Tomori in? The 23 England players who should be on the plane to Qatar for World Cup 2022

After a decade of bitter controversy, the World Cup in Qatar is now only eight months away. Whatever happens once the tournament kicks off in November, it is destined to be remembered for issues off the pitch. Qatar’s human rights record and the appalling treatment of workers who have built much of its World Cup infrastructure have been in the spotlight again this week, with Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness telling the FIFA Congress: “In 2010 World Cups were awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences.

Human rights, equality and democracy – the core interests of football – were not in the starting XI.” Ad/> The England squad have also addressed human rights abuses in the Gulf state, with the players holding a meeting, headed by Gareth Southgate, on Tuesday to talk about a collective response. Harry Kane has admitted he has “conflicting feelings” about playing in Qatar, while Jordan Henderson has said that some of the issues the squad have discussed are “horrendous”. TransfersMan Utd propose Kane-Martial swap deal — Paper RoundYESTERDAY AT 05:08 Nonetheless, Southgate and the players are now tasked with preparing for the tournament as best they can.

For the manager, the hardest job will be to choose his final 23-man squad. With England arguably able to draw from a deeper pool of talent than at any time in the modern era, Southgate has some big decisions to make. While his thinking will no doubt be influenced by club form and international performances in the interim, there are several players who didn’t feature during this international break who ought to get a look in.

That will, of course, mean that others have to miss out. Here’s who we reckon should make the cut. So, Qatar