Six England stars unlucky to miss out on call-up ahead of the Qatar World Cup

The World Cup is just two months away and England boss Gareth Southgate has plenty to mull over before the Three Lions jet off to Qatar in November.

England have tricky Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany to negotiate over the next fortnight and Southgate's latest squad is filled with players who have not featured as prominently as they would have liked for their clubs during the early weeks of the season.

Brentford hotshot Ivan Toney has earned a maiden call-up after dazzling for the Bees, but there were a host of other Premier League stars who could, realistically, have featured in this month's double-header but have been omitted.

Here, Mirror Football takes a look at six players who were available for duty but still unfortunately missed out...

Jadon Sancho

Not many eyebrows were raised when Sancho lost his spot in the wake of his poor maiden season in the Premier League, but the former Borussia Dortmund star has been affecting games since the appointment of Erik ten Hag and appeared to be in line for a recall.

But Southgate's decision to look past Sancho at this late stage indicates that the Manchester United man's World Cup spot is in serious jeopardy.

Missing out on this year's showpiece tournament would be a damning indication of how far Sancho's stock has fallen since his Old Trafford switch. Unfortunately for Sancho, that nightmare scenario could be edging closer to reality.

Ben White

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After winning plenty of plaudits during his first season at Arsenal, White is a surprising omission; particularly as so many England defenders are currently not exactly in dazzling form.

White has the type of composure on the ball that Southgate has favoured in his defensive selections during his tenure, while the former Brighton ace has also shown versatility this season by filling in at right-back following the emergence of William Saliba.

That should stand White in good stead to make the final cut in November, but this exclusion will still sting.

Harvey Elliott

Elliott has continued to impress for Liverpool, but his rapid trajectory has not translated into a spot in Southgate's squad. But given the way that the talented teenager has stood out for Jurgen Klopp's side during a midfield injury crisis, you wouldn't bet against that changing before England jet off to Qatar.

Much like White, the former Fulham youngster has many strings to his bow and is also capable of filling a more advanced role if England's engine room is a closed shop.

That trait, coupled with his recent form, may make him impossible for Southgate to ignore the highly-rated Reds prospect.

Ryan Sessegnon

From one former Fulham starlet to another, Sessegnon has stepped up following the arrival of Ivan Perisic at Tottenham and is desperately unfortunate to miss out on a spot in Southgate's squad considering Luke Shaw is woefully out of form and Ben Chilwell is only just returning from an extended spell on the sidelines.

Sessegnon has answered Antonio Conte's call and significantly improved his output this year; something that has been sorely missing from his game since his Craven Cottage days. Of all the in-form players who have missed out on this squad, Sessegnon is perhaps the one who should feel most aggrieved.

James Maddison

Plenty of people have been clamouring for Maddison to become an established member of the England set-up over the past couple of years, but Leicester City's main man is running out of time to gatecrash the World Cup squad following this fresh setback.

On current form, it's hard to argue against including Maddison; the playmaker has managed to shine in spite of Leicester's struggles this term and has already bagged two goals and an assist in just five top-flight matches.

Max Kilman

Kilman has silently evolved into one of the Premier League's coolest customers over the past 18 months - and with England's current defenders out of sorts, the Wolves centre-half was more than deserving of a chance to win full international honours.

The 25-year-old has struck up an instant rapport with new boy Nathan Collins at the heart of the Wolves defence. And considering the Midlands outfit currently have the leanest defence in the Premier League, it is hard to fathom why Kilman has not been given an opportunity to stake a claim for a World Cup spot.

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