Having reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and then only lost on penalties to Italy in last year’s European Championships final, England head to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar with good tournament form behind them.

However, more recent results have been concerning. England were relegated in the UEFA Nations League after failing to win any of their six games. Half of those were defeats without scoring, including a 4-0 home humbling at the hands of Hungary in June, and it leaves them without a competitive victory since last November.

Like so many countries, injuries have affected Gareth Southgate’s plans. Our own Reece James and Ben Chilwell are the two major absentees. Kyle Walker has not played in over a month after groin surgery but is selected, while Kalvin Phillips, a regular in the successful Euros side, has only just returned to fitness having not featured much since arriving at Man City.

Which Chelsea players do England have?

Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling have been regulars in Southgate’s side for several years. Mount has already accrued 32 caps, and it is now over a decade since Sterling’s international debut aged just 17.

Sterling has captained his country four times and averages almost a goal every three games in competitive fixtures, although he is yet to score at a World Cup finals.  

Conor Gallagher has four caps, three picked up this year, although it was the manner in which he shone representing the Under-21s on the most recent international break that caught Southgate's eye.

Who else is in England's squad?

Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund is the only player selected by Southgate who doesn’t ply his trade in the Premier League. James Maddison received his first call-up since late 2019.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Everton, loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United)

Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), James Maddison (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)

What teams are in England's group?

The Three Lions start with a game against Iran, a side they have never previously met. The same cannot be said for their next opponents. England drew with USA in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, and 60 years prior were stunned by the amateur Americans in Belo Horizonte in what remains one of the great World Cup shocks.

England’s Group B campaign concludes with a local affair against Wales, participating for the first time since 1958.

When are England's fixtures?

England v Iran, Doha, 21 November, 1pm

England v USA, Al Khor, 25 November, 7pm

England v Wales, Al Rayyan, 29 November, 7pm

How did England qualify?

England qualified comfortably, winning eight and drawing two of their 10 games to finish six points clear of second-placed Poland. They conceded just three goals along the way, scoring 39 in a group that also contained Albania, San Marino, Andorra and recent Nations League nemesis Hungary.

What is England's World Cup history?

England first entered the World Cup in 1950 and have qualified for 15 of the 18 tournaments since, missing out in 1974, 1978 and 1994.

They lifted the Jules Rimet trophy on home soil in 1966 and have twice finished fourth, in 1990 and 2018. That successful showing in Russia followed a failure to make it out of the group stage in 2014, one of three occasions they have not advanced to the knockout rounds.

They have fallen in the quarter-finals six times, seven if you include the 1982 World Cup when there were two group stages leading straight to the semis. The bookmakers’ odds pre-tournament suggest they’re expecting a similar outcome this time around.