SOUTHGATE’S GOT TRUST IN SQUAD OF 23
GARETH SOUTHGATE will consider taking only 23 men to Qatar despite coaches pushing FIFA to change squad size up to 26.
Increased squads were introduced for Euro 2020 to combat the problems of losing players to the pandemic.
However, a meeting of the coaches ahead of the World Cup 2022 draw in Doha on Friday showed a groundswell of countries want the alterations to stay to squeezing the competition to a game every three days at times.
Three Lions boss Southgate (below) is against the plan as he is worried that it leaves too many players around the camp who are not getting a game.
He said: “Is a bigger squad necessary? Originally that was for Covid but there’s now people talking about the condensed fixtures.
“I still think it’s a bigger skill to pick a 23 and to work all that out but that decision will be made and I suspect that it will be 26.”
England will play Iran on the opening day of the tournament on November 21 at Khalifa Stadium, then face USA on November 25 before ending their group stage campaign on November 29 against one of the three European sides in the play-offs – Wales, Scotland and Ukraine.
Despite the frantic timetable, it will be easy for players staying in the same hotel for the entire competition and not even travelling to games to become hard to manage.
Southgate added: “When you are picking a team, when you’ve got 11 who are happy and 15 who are disappointed that’s more of a challenge. That’s managing.”
His radical solution was pioneered by Spain who only named 24 for last summer’s tournament.
“You don’t have to take 26,” he said. “Luis Enrique didn’t last year.
“That’s something we’ll have to think about depending on what the Covid situation is and what our injuries might be.”