Why SIXTEEN stars of England's 2018 World Cup squad won't go to Qatar

Only nine England players in the current Nations League squad were there when Gareth Southgate led the Three Lions to a World Cup semi-final in Russia. 

England's 2018 squad - the youngest in the competition - was branded a foundation for the future, designed to both develop an exciting crop of talent and offer young players invaluable experience at major tournaments.

In the most part, this ideology prevailed. Southgate went on to manufacture an even better finish at Euro 2020 and came just a couple of penalties away from glory against Italy in the final.

However, from the 2018 World Cup squad and standby list, 16 of the players seem destined to miss out on a ticket to Qatar, with two more - Gary Cahill and Jamie Vardy - having announced their international retirement.

Fresh young stars such as Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount have rightly won their spots and become Three Lions regulars, handing the unlucky 16 an uphill battle to win Southgate's favour by November.

Sportsmail have pinned down exactly what went wrong for these players over the last four years...

Danny Rose

Ahead of the World Cup in 2018, Danny Rose endured an injury-ridden campaign at Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino, plagued with ongoing knee and ligament problems.

Three of his 10 appearances that season came in May, which was enough to earn him a spot in the squad at left-back.

His selection - and Southgate's decision to play right-footer Ashley Young at wing-back - highlighted a clear lack of options in his position.

Since Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw emerged as Three Lions regulars, Rose has inevitably fallen down the pecking order.

The 31-year-old played just over a season more in north London before moving to Newcastle on loan in January 2020.

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