5 England players who should be given a chance at the World Cup

#5 – Tammy Abraham

World Cup experience would be fantastic for youngster Tammy Abraham

Granted, Abraham has been on the shelf since December with a stomach upset and then a hip injury, and he hasn’t scored for struggling Swansea since October. But then few players have been scoring for Swansea anyway, and when he was given a chance for England in November’s match with Germany, the Chelsea youngster performed admirably despite not being able to find the back of the net.

Crucially though, the name of England’s main striker is already pretty clear – Harry Kane, the best goalscorer in the Premier League right now. And with Southgate apparently settled on a formation that uses a lone striker, the fact that Kane is clearly the first choice – and Jamie Vardy is still second – means that the England boss can afford to take a player who’s more one for the future than one for the present.

Abraham – a natural born finisher with predatory instincts in the box – is only going to get better with experience, and despite only scoring five goals this season thus far, he’s still ahead of Jermain Defoe, Andy Carroll and Daniel Sturridge in the goalscoring charts. Marcus Rashford can be expected to go as a striker/attacking midfielder, but if there’s a spot behind Kane and Vardy for a third striker, then Southgate should look to the future and take Abraham, giving him more vital experience.