England expects - and Southgate deserves the chance to put it right

A multitude of World Cups have either begun or are about to begin and, as an England fan, I am fortunate that my country are not only in all of them but also hold good chances of victory.

England are odds-on favourites to continue their record winning run and claim victory in the Women's Rugby World Cup, are third favourites for the men's and women's rugby league versions, and have only hosts and defending champions Australia ahead of them in the betting as they bid to add the cricketing T20 world crown to their 50-over success from 2019.

Sarina Wiegman's England Lionesses have already set a fine standard this year, backing up their Euro 2022 success in the summer by laying down a marker for next year's global football tournament with a recent 2-1 friendly victory over defending World Cup champions USA.

Of course, for many, the holy grail remains the men's footballing World Cup, with England manager Gareth Southgate's men heading to Qatar next month for an unprecedented winter tournament.

Whether England should be fourth-favourites for the competition is open to question given the side's recent form, but Southgate has shown he can deliver in major tournaments.

My work colleagues and drinking buddies may find this a surprise, but I feel genuine sympathy for the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and England defender – good enough for 57 caps for his country but perhaps remembered best for that penalty miss – as he endures increasing scrutiny and pressure.

Southgate somewhat fell into the manager's role after Sam Allardyce's brief, ill-fated spell but, despite his limited coaching experience, he made an immediate impact.

As a former player at the highest level Southgate perhaps already had a pretty good idea of what would help England deliver on the biggest stage and, after qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with relative ease, he won over the media when his team went on to reach the semi-finals in Russia.

The Three Lions then got to the final four of the inaugural Nations League in 2019, before getting within a penalty shootout of ending the country's wait for footballing silverware in the Euro 2020 final (held in 2021).

Given what preceded his tenure, that set of achievements should surely have given Southgate plenty of credit in the bank; but all good things come to an end, sooner or later.

The 52-year-old now finds himself under the spotlight after a dismal 2022 Nations League campaign, which included a 4-0 home hammering at the hands of Hungary on the way to relegation, leaving England short of confidence as they head to Qatar.

With the squad announcement imminent, his relationship with some of his players, in particular Harry Maguire, appears to have provided further ammunition for his doubters amid England's struggles on the pitch.

Southgate remains steadfast in his support for Maguire, one of his most trusted lieutenants, despite his limited game time for Manchester United this season due to a hamstring injury. The Old Trafford club have lost each of the three games Maguire has started this season, and only started to keep clean sheets and climb the Premire League table when he was on the sidelines.

It remains to be seen how much Maguire will play for United boss Erik ten Hag before the World Cup, but he will be on the plane to Qatar, and the critics will use his presence as one of the sticks with which to beat Southgate if things don't go according to plan.

Maguire's continued inclusion for his country seems to fly in the face of suggestions that form would be Southgate's driving force for selection – but I want to reiterate my sympathy for the manager, rather than launch into why he is of course wrong to do so.

Discussing England's possible starting XI at the World Cup down the local, where the world is of course always put to rights, resulted in just three players being identified as definite starters: Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

The reasons behind this apparent lack of clarity over the starting XI is not because England have bad players, but is down to the fact that not enough of them have made their mark when given the chance.

Southgate, most importantly, hopefully has a much better idea of how he will utilise England's finest and, given how he has transformed the team into serial semi-finalists, he more than deserves the faith and respect of supporters to do so.

His tactics and approach may not always be popular, but there is more than one way to skin a cat, and if it works and the Three Lions go deep in Qatar, who among England fans will be complaining?

I have long since given up on expecting England to do well when football's World Cup rolls around, but feel Southgate more than deserves the chance to do things his way; but if he does need any help here is my team, in the hope Kyle Walker is fit.

My starting XI (3-4-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Rice, Chilwell; Saka, Kane, Foden.

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