5 lesser-known England players who deserve a World Cup opportunity

#5 Lewis Cook

Lewis Cook could provide England with a much-needed creative spark

The captain of England’s Under-20 World Cup winning squad of 2017, Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook was called into the senior squad for the first time back in November for the friendly game against Brazil, but he didn’t make an appearance. Back in the squad for the upcoming games, Cook will hopefully pick up his first cap – and could well make an impression strong enough to book a place at the World Cup.

A creative midfielder who has shown an ability to split a defence with his passing – witness his assist for Dominic Solanke’s goal against Mexico in the U-20 World Cup – it took Cook a little while to cement himself in Bournemouth’s starting line-up, but since December he’s largely been an ever-present – playing in all of the Cherries’ recent impressive run of just 2 defeats in 12 Premier League games.

As previously discussed, the current England side seem to lack a creative spark at times, which is where Cook could come in. His goalscoring record could do with improving – he hasn’t found the back of the net in the league this season although he has 2 assists to his name – his tight dribbling skills and ability to pick a pass to set up an attack could help England massively.

With Harry Winks looking out of the picture due to his lack of game time with Tottenham and Southgate still having question marks around Jack Wilshere, Cook could well force himself into the Three Lions’ World Cup plans with a couple of impressive showings against Holland and Italy. Watch this space.