Manchester City will have a total of sixteen players participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will be held in a Middle Eastern country for the first time in its entire history. There are a total of eleven non-English players who will take part in the World Cup being held in Qatar as they represent their respective nations this year and five English players who have been called up by Gareth Southgate.
Let’s take a look at how three of these English players will fare at the World Cup as it commences at the end of this week.
John Stones (England)
The English defender has experienced a decent campaign at the Etihad Stadium so far after producing a run of dominant displays for the Sky Blues on the defensive third of the field. The 28-year-old has made 11 appearances for the Mancunian giants this season, creating two assists in the process across all fronts and is averaging 1.0 tackles, 0.3 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per game in Premier League football (stats via whoscored).
Stones has often played as a right-back this season covering for an injured Kyle Walker but is expected to compete with Harry Maguire, Eric Dier and Ben White for a starting place in the heart of England’s backline as the World Cup gets underway in Qatar this Sunday.
Jack Grealish (England)
Grealish has had a slow start to this campaign as he has only made 14 appearances for the Sky Blues in the final third. He has managed to find the back of the net on one occasion and hasn’t been able to set up his teammates in the attacking third. The English forward has averaged 0.9 shots, 1.9 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League so far. However, he has produced a few influential displays with the attacking prowess he possesses.
He will be expected to add significant firepower to Southgate’s attacking department for England but it would be difficult to say that he’ll be a guaranteed starter considering Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and James Maddison competing for a place in the match-day squad.
Kyle Walker (England)
Walker has been a key player for Guardiola at the backline as he has often produced influential displays on the right flank of City’s defensive half. The 32-year-old has struggled to appear for the Mancunian giants in this campaign after suffering from an injury that kept him sidelined for a major part of this season so far. Hence, he has only averaged 0.3 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and 0.7 clearances per game in the Premier League which implies that he is currently not in his best form. The English right-back will however be competing with Trent- Alexander Arnold and Kieran Trippier for a starting place in Southgate’s backline.
