Time will still be a week link for Southgate

SEVEN DAYS is all Gareth Southgate and England will get for their pre-World Cup camp.

Which, according to the Three Lions boss, will be down to FIVE by the time his players actually arrive in Qatar.

The final weekend of Premier League fixtures before next year’s festive tournament, which begins on November 20, are inked in for November 12 and 13.

Yep, only then will Harry Kane and Co be able to swap domestic duties for the country’s bid to conquer the globe.

Yet, despite the complexities of the tournament being staged bang in the middle of the club football calendar – nobody actually voted for that when Qatar won the bidding war a decade ago – Southgate is surprisingly unfazed. With so many of the likely World Cup stars playing in the Premier League, and all the top European leagues closing down at a similar point, he argues nobody will gain or lose over the congested scheduling.

The England boss said: “Ahead of Russia we had 28 days with the first group of players that arrived. So the difference is stark. “Seven days – and, of course, the players will have played on the Saturday and Sunday so they won’t be able to train for the first couple of days.

“Then, I’m assuming we’ll have to fly then in as, normally, you have to be in the country five days ahead of the tournament.

“But then all countries will be pretty much in the same boat, so there’s no use moaning about it. “It’s just going to be a different sort of preparation.” The FA always try to leave nothing to chance.

They will embark on one more fact-finding mission to Qatar next month – for the Arab Cup.

That will let them see first-hand and study how a football tournament operates in the Middle East country.

Rest assured, England aim to be well prepared – both on and off the pitch.