England’s road to the World Cup starts for real

There are just 62 days until the Three Lions kick off their tournament against Iran, writes Ben Burrows

Gareth Southgate has kept faith with his core group (PA)

England’s World Cup hopefuls are set to get one last chance to impress before Gareth Southgate picks his squad for Qatar.

There are just 62 days until the Three Lions kick off their tournament against Iran with just two matches between now and then for those on the fringes of selection to catch the manager’s eye.

They come in the form of clashes with Italy and Germany over the next week, two contests that will go a long way to deciding who will make up the squad in November and who will miss out, but will also give a steer on where the team are at as a whole ahead of their latest tilt at a trophy.