Gareth Southgate will only pick one England ace from predicted team

England boss Gareth Southgate is set to reveal his squad for the World Cup at 2pm on Thursday. The Three Lions will be going in search of glory when the tournament gets underway later this month in Qatar. But the former defender will only pick one player from a team that was predicted way back in 2013.England have struggled for form in recent months and enter the World Cup on the back of a six-match winless run. But they are still among the favourites to lift the trophy after reaching the semi-finals of the competition in Russia four years ago.The Three Lions have one of the strongest teams in the world on paper, with the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham all in fine form. But England’s line-up looks very different to how The Independent expected it to look when they predicted it nearly a decade ago.Nine years ago, the publication thought Jack Butland would line up between the posts, with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Nathaniel Chalobah and Luke Shaw starring in defence. Shaw is in fact the only player from the predicted line-up who does look likely to start for England throughout the tournament. The 27-year-old has returned to form this season after an underwhelming campaign last time around and should be handed the left-back jersey as Chelsea ace Ben Chilwell will miss the tournament through injury.MUST READ: Liverpool star Firmino amongst stars dealt Brazil World Cup squad snub England boss Gareth Southgate is set name his squad for the World Cup on Thursday (Image: GETTY)England’s predicted midfield certainly had plenty of potential at the time, with Jordan Ibe, Ross Barkley, Jack Wilshere and Wilfried Zaha tipped to make it into the 2022 team. But Wilshere has since retired, Barkley is struggling for game time with new club Nice and Zaha is no longer even eligible to represent England, having played 30 times for Ivory Coast.England were backed to line up with Daniel Sturridge and the relatively unknown Chuba Akpom upfront during this winter’s tournament. Sturridge was banging in the goals for Liverpool when the prediction was made, while Akpom was playing for Arsenal’s under-18s side and had starred for the England youth teams. But Sturridge hasn’t had a club since leaving Australian side Perth Glory in the summer, while Akpom is currently plying his trade with Middlesbrough in the Championship.DON’T MISS…Man City boss Pep Guardiola snaps at question over Liverpool saleLiverpool’s Roberto Firmino breaks silence after Brazil World Cup snubLiverpool ‘assessing Isaksen move’ as Lijnders makes ‘special’ claim Ivory Coast international Wilfried Zaha was tipped to make England’s 2022 World Cup team in 2013 (Image: GETTY)Southgate is set to name his 26-man squad four days before the official deadline, with Reece James already reportedly being told that he will miss out after a lengthy injury lay-off.Meanwhile the likes of Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips are facing an anxious wait to discover whether they will make the squad.