England manager Gareth Southgate will name his squad for the 2018 World Cup on May 16.

The date was confirmed by the Football Association. Southgate does have more time before announcing his 23-man list, but he wants to get it done early.

Teams have until June 4th to submit the final 23-man list to FIFA. But Southgate would rather the core group of players know they are going to the tournament.

Having the extra time between the announcement and deadline would allow him to keep five players on standby, in case there are fitness issues for someone in the 23-man squad.

There are some injury concerns going into the tournament for England, with the likes of Joe Gomez and Adam Lallana recovering from knocks. Gomez is unlikely to recover in time.

He will also have to decide whether Arsenal's Jack Wilshere is worth a place in the squad.