England's "number 1" problem for Russia

Going into the World Cup, the Three Lions and their manager - Gareth Southgate, have a tough selection ahead for all the spots on the team, but none more so than who will line up between the sticks.

Southgate has temporarily bypassed this, by calling up 4 goalkeepers for the upcoming friendlies against Holland and Italy - Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Joe Hart and the uncapped Nick Pope.

However, there are also other keepers such as Ben Foster, Fraser Forster and Tom Heaton - who have all played for England. The question is, who should be wearing the keeper's jersey in Russia?

Butland is the favorite to don the goalkeeper jersey

The Worrying Form of the Keepers

Most of the aforementioned keepers have had poor seasons with their club teams.

Jack Butland, tipped to be number one for Russia, is behind a leaky Stoke defence who have conceded the most goals in the league with 58 goals. The last thing England need in Russia, is to concede low-effort goals, which Stoke are doing at the moment.

His ability as a goalkeeper, however, cannot be denied as Butland has the most saves in the league - 112. The worrying thing about him is his tendency to make mistakes, evident from the most recent one he made against Leicester. It is these kind of mistakes that England will want to avoid in the World Cup.

The second choice is Jordan Pickford, who had a very similar season to Butland last year with Sunderland, but stood out from the mediocrity around him by making fantastic saves consistently.

He earned a big money move to Everton last summer. However, Everton has been almost as leaky as Stoke, conceding 50 goals. Pickford too has an excellent save count, third in line behind Butland and Fabianski but he too has the weakness of conceding from a lapse in concentration.

Pickford has had a mixed season at Everton

Meanwhile, Fraser Forster was once a certainty to make it into the squad, but has completely faltered away. With him out of the friendlies squad,it is very unlikely that he is in the reckoning for a spot in the World Cup unless injuries strike.

Another keeper who has previous international experience is Ben Foster. To put it mildly, he is in goal for the worst team in the league and clean sheets are not happening for him. Considering his form, there is absolutely no way he makes it to Russia.

Tom Heaton, who had a fantastic season last year, is unfortunately injured - making way for an exciting new name on the list, Nick Pope.

Pope has been in terrific form for Burnley

Nick Pope's story is one that goes from a non-league team to becoming a surprise starter for a mid-table club in the PL to finally, an England call-up. His form has been brilliant this season - a vital cog in a stubborn Burnley defense which sees them in the top half of the table.

Unlike every other keeper on this list, he is in a decent form and has had a good season.

Seeing Hart again in the England shirt doesn't seem possible at the moment

Finally, there is Joe Hart. Once easily the first name on the team sheet for England and tipped to become captain, he is now struggling to even get on the plane to Russia. He has been very poor this season for West Ham United.

He has made more than a few mistakes and the last thing England needs is more mistakes from him. But, if there is one thing he has that none of the other keepers have, it is his International tournament experience.

Youth or Experience?

Joe Hart has 75 caps for England, more than all the keepers in the list combined. Tournament experience is important for a World Cup, but is it necessary? Especially when most of the experience is from failures.

There is enough experience in this England team already, and it is time to change things up. With Hart's erratic form and three keepers playing consistently and making good impressions, his place is in danger.

There is a chance that he could sneak onto the plane, on the back of great form after the current international break, but as things stand at the moment, Joe Hart should not be on the plane to Russia.

Butland and Pickford have established themselves as back-ups to Hart in the past, and now can fight it out to be the new no.1. If England decide to go with the player in the best form, there is only one keeper in that kind of form - Nick Pope.

Barring a miracle, these are the three keepers who should be on their way to the World Cup.