I became a fan of the 3 Lions of England at the 2002 World Cup which was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan tagged Korea/Japan 2002. It was their quarter-final game against Brazil that attracted me to the team. After so much promises and disappointments to match (when I no be Arsenal fan) I BrExited. Who was I fooling though? They are one of the 4 teams I would be supporting at Russia 2018 come June.
England (3 Lions):
They hosted and won the World Cup in 1966 beating West Germany 4-2 in the final. Wayne Rooney who is now retired is the Nation’s all time top scorer with 53 goals and Peter Shilton remains the most capped English player with 125 caps spanning over 20 years. They have qualified for the World Cup 15 times out of a possible 21 tournaments. England’s Geoff Hurst is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final till date.
Find below my preferred 23 players to represent England at the Russia 2018 World Cup:
Goalkeepers
- Jordan Pickford (Everton)
- Jack Butland (Stoke City)
- Nick Pope (Burnley)
Defenders
4. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
5. Kieran Trippier (Tottenham)
6. Danny Rose (Tottenham)
7. Eric Dier (Tottenham)
8.John Stones (Manchester City)
9. Harry Maguire (Leicester City)
10. Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
11. James Tarkowski (Burnley)
Midfielders
12. Lewis Cook (Bournemouth)
13. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
14.Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
15. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
16. Dele Alli (Tottenham)
17. James Milner (Liverpool)
18. Adam Lallana (Liverpool)
19. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Forwards
20. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
21. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
22. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
23. Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion)
There you have it, my preferred 23 for the 3 Lions. I know there would be questions raised as regards my choice of picking Eric Dier who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Tottenham as a defender. Well he started his career as a center back, he would blend. I also know James Milner retired the from the national team in 2016 but I believe a little discussion will convince him to make a u-turn and his experience can go a long way.
Thanks again for your time guys. Next up up is my preferred 23 for France.