2018 FIFA World Cup: 5 England players who should not be selected

#3 Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling's limited passing ability may hamper his World Cup chances

Another former England regular left out of Southgate’s current squad is Manchester United defender Chris Smalling. Southgate has stated that the door is still open for Smalling to return to the fold should he find form with his club, but anyone who has watched him play recently would probably tell you that he shouldn’t be going to the World Cup.

Criticised for years for his somewhat sloppy decision-making in central defence, it appeared that Smalling was turning a corner under Louis van Gaal in 2015/16, but since the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford last season, his improvement seems to have stalled out somewhat.

Instead, we’ve seen the return of Smalling as a liability, with perhaps the clearest example being his errors that led to a loss to Newcastle United in February. But the biggest problem for Smalling’s hopes of going to Russia might not be his own club form, but the impressive form of some of his rivals.

Southgate has already brought Harry Maguire and Joe Gomez into the England fold as he has stated his admiration for their passing ability, and now James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson have both been drafted in too, likely for both their passing ability and solid form this season.

When you add John Stones into the equation – another defender with better passing ability than Smalling – it suddenly becomes tricky for the Manchester United defender to warrant a spot in the squad.

And rightfully so, too – under Southgate it feels like the days of being selected for England due to the club you play for are long gone. These days you get in on talent and form, and Smalling hasn’t shown enough of either recently.