Southgate 'refuses to publicly name provisional England World Cup squad'

England’s initial squad of 55 players was sent to FIFA ahead of the deadline, but the FA and Southgate have reportedly decided against notifying the individuals involved or their clubs to ‘avoid distractions’, as well as keeping cards close to their chest.

The FA regards the long list of players sent to football’s headquarters as purely an administrative issue, and will name the full 26-man squad to take part in Qatar once the final list has been submitted to FIFA on the official 14 November deadline.

Fringe players and those excluded from the Three Lions’ recent international matches against Italy and Germany – including Leicester City’s James Maddison (25) and Chelsea's Reece James (22) – will have just over three weeks to convince Southgate to be included in the squad.

England kick-off their World Cup campaign against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium on 21 November.