Paul Merson says: Marcus Rashford should start for England at Qatar World Cup but Luke Shaw shouldn’t go. Football news

His latest Sports sky columnist, Paul Merson discusses Gareth Southgate’s selection for England in September and picks his starting line-up for the World Cup opener against Iran.

Gareth Southgate is in a real predicament, isn’t he? He has big players, people he trusts, who can’t get into his team.

It’s fine for now and he can get out of it today because it’s two months away from the World Cup. But come November, if Harry Maguire only plays in the Europa League, how will you play him in Qatar?

That’s the problem with Gareth, he’s very loyal. The reason why he’s picked Maguire alongside Luke Shaw in this England squad is because they really need to play some games – and they’ll be playing Italy and Germany.

However, I don’t see Shaw being able to attend the World Cup. He needed to be playing football continuously, every week, and that didn’t happen.

I don’t understand how he got to Qatar, especially considering the number of full-backs we have. It is a position that we are fortunate to have. Why do you need him?

You have Kyle Walker, Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell and Kieran Trippier. You are using 5 full-backs without Shaw!

Rashford should go to Qatar, but not Sancho

I think Marcus Rashford should find it difficult. Had he not been injured, I think he would have been in this squad and I think he would have made it into the final 26-man squad of the World Cup if he kept doing what he is doing.

It depends on what Ivan Toney performs in two games in the Nations League this month. I think the Brentford man has a chance, otherwise doesn’t mean he’ll be there in the September squad.

I don’t think anyone else will make it to England between now and the World Cup. There are not too many English players playing well at the moment. Roy Keane hit it in the head when he said: if you don’t play for your country, you’re not very good.

I can’t think anyone who isn’t playing for England right now is good, there aren’t many players left out there.

People tell me about Jadon Sancho, but he has scored two Premier League goals and given no assists. He doesn’t rip it, and while he scored a nice goal against Liverpool, he still has plenty of players in that position.

My England team starts 11th for Iran

We are playing Iran in the first game, it will be very difficult.

It was a nightmare start for a team accustomed to hot weather. It’s their first game and they’ll be running around – it’s not like the team’s third game and they’re out. How many shocks do we usually see in the first round of the game? You see the load.

I don’t like playing four in the back – and in any other game I would play three, but we have to beat Iran.

Whatever happens, Alexander-Arnold must open the scoring. I certainly don’t think he’s a better player than James in terms of being an all-around player. But if you’re talking about a team like Iran who are going to put a 10 behind the ball and you need to break them, Trent has to be on the team for that game. In my opinion, he is the best passer in the country.

Jordan Pickford will be in goal, with Trippier at left-back because that could be a fixture to win. Then I would have to put Walker at center back, because if you ask Alexander-Arnold to bomb forward Walker has to play because of his pace. I will probably play John Stones with him.

You don’t need two central midfielders against Iran, so you don’t need either Declan Rice or Kalvin Phillips. So I’m going to play Rice there, Mason Mount on his side and Phil Foden on the other side because we have to get him on the team. The forward trio will be Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford – if he keeps shooting.

It could be a big game but we should dominate this football match so I want to have as many players on the pitch that will hurt them. We can’t play forward-leaning football, I want the guys to lead the players and take people through with spectacular passes.

As soon as we played against a top team and started going into the knockout stages, I think we had to play three people in the back. I don’t think we’re good enough against those teams to play four games. If we do that, I don’t think we will do anything at the World Cup.

Kane’s heat and form will determine the fate of Qatar

England’s success in Qatar depends on how they deal with the heat. It will be very hot out there. I played at Euro 1992 in Sweden and it was hot – but it’s not going to be like this.

It’s all about how Southgate manages these players. Hopefully we can win two or three zeros in games and give players another 20 minutes. That will make a difference.

You have to say that expectations are minimal going into the semi-finals. There aren’t too many teams that can cause big problems for us. Why can’t we beat France in a potential World Cup quarter-final? They might be like the real us, but while they have a bit more, I wouldn’t be surprised if we beat them.

You can go back to another England starting XI which I have not selected above. You have Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, players worth £70m to £80m. You’ve got Jack Grealish, a £100m player. You have Sancho, who may not even have gone and he was bought for £75m.

We’ve got the ammo and it’s going to Kane. If Kane plays, we have a chance to win the World Cup for England. There’s no way for us to win that World Cup if he doesn’t.