Dominic Calvert-Lewin is yet to discover whether his World Cup dream remains alive after not being informed whether he has made Gareth Soutgate’s 55-man provisional squad.
The 2022 World Cup is now just over a month away with the tournament set to take place outside the traditional summer window for the first time in its history. And Southgate has been narrowing down who he wants in his squad.
The Football Association handed FIFA a 55-man long list of players who could feature in Qatar ahead of Friday’s deadline last week. However, the ECHO understands that individuals concerned have not been told, and neither have their clubs about who has made the cut.
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The reason behind Southgate's decision is that the FA regard the long list as a purely administrative issue. The Three Lions boss must submit his final 26-man squad for the tournament to FIFA by November 13.
Calvert-Lewin was back among the goals for Everton as they returned to winning ways in the Premier League against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon. And when asked afterwards if he had spoken to Southgate, the forward replied: “No, no.”
When told that Southgate was in attendance to witness his goal against the Eagles, the 25-year-old responded: “It's always a bonus to score in front of the England manager!
“But no, I haven't spoken to him. I know what I need to do and I've done it my whole life. I've always benefitted from hard work, dedication and self-belief, so nothing's changed in that respect.”
Asked if he can do enough to catch the manager's eye before England's World Cup squad is announced, Calvert-Lewin said: “I can’t run before I can walk, it is every boy’s dream to play at a World Cup but the main focus for me has been getting back to peak physicality and putting in good performances for Everton.
“That is the most important thing. Today is a good step forward for me and to get on the scoresheet with a confident performance. I will keep on doing the same wherever that takes me it takes me.”
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