England name World Cup squad: Joe Hart, Jack Wilshere out; Trent Alexander-Arnold in

Posted Thursday, May 17, 2018 by ESPN

Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere were left out of England's World Cup squad on Wednesday by manager Gareth Southgate, who included uncapped 19-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The selection of 19-year-old defender Alexander-Arnold comes after some fine performances in Liverpool's run to the Champions League final. Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope and Fabian Delph of Manchester City are other notable inclusions.

Hart and Wilshere, who featured for England at Euro 2016, have struggled for a place at their clubs this season, either through form or fitness.

Hart, the West Ham United goalkeeper on loan from Manchester City, won 75 caps for England and was their No. 1 at Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, but he fell out of favour following Pep Guardiola's arrival at City in 2016 and has subsequently spent time on loan at Torino and West Ham, where he was demoted behind Adrian for much of the second half of the season.

With Hart's omission, Southgate selected Stoke City's Jack Butland, Everton's Jordan Pickford and Pope as his three goalkeepers.

Wilshere, the Arsenal midfielder, recovered after breaking his left leg on loan at Bournemouth last season to make 38 appearances in all competitions, but an ankle injury prevented him from stating his case to Southgate during friendlies in March.

Southgate also handed a spot in the squad to Alexander-Arnold, the Liverpool defender who was invited to train with the squad during the March friendlies.

Alexander-Arnold, who made 32 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool this season, earned praise for his performance against City in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Southgate has named Tom Heaton, James Tarkowski, Lewis Cook, Jake Livermore and Adam Lallana on his stand-by list.

England will face Tunisia in their Group F opener on June 18 in Kazan, Russia, and have also been grouped with Belgium and Tunisia.

England's 23-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Defenders: John Stones (Manchester City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Fabian Delph (Manchester City)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)