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Why I think Danny Welbeck should go to Qatar

November 6th, 2022 | Football

There’s been much discussion about which striker Gareth Southgate should select to deputise for Harry Kane at the 2022 World Cup.

There are no standout candidates, with recently capped Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both struggling for goals this season.

The most in-form England strikers, apart from Harry Kane, are Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Brentford’s Ivan Toney. Both strikers have impressed for their respective sides this season, with Toney netting eight premier league goals whilst chipping in with two assists. Wilson has scored six and provided two assists, meaning he’s made an impressive eight goal contributions in only nine appearances in the league this season.

However, both strikers lack real England experience. Toney has been called-up, but is yet to have earnt a cap. Wilson has played on four occasions for his country, scoring on his debut against the USA, but hasn’t had a call up since 2019.

With Abraham and Calvert-Lewin struggling for goals and Toney and Wilson having not yet proved themselves on the international stage, could there be a return to the squad for Danny Welbeck?

Welbeck has an impressive 42 caps for his country and has scored a respectable 16 goals, averaging a goal every 2.6 games. For context, that’s a better goal to game ratio for England than Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tammy Abraham and Callum Wilson.

Welbeck hasn’t played for England 2018 and is yet to score this season. However, I’ve watched quite a bit of Brighton and his performances have been far from poor. He’s physical, has good hold up play and possesses great movement, occupying defenders and creating space for teammates. He can score the tap-ins and get the goals that you want from a traditional no.9.

He also once had a period with England where each shot he had on target was a goal (he had six shots on target and scored all of them).

I’m putting across this opinion as it’s something I’ve discussed with friends recently. I often get ridiculed, but there is logic behind it.

I personally like both Abraham and Wilson, but I’m slightly concerned about their lack of goals on the international stage. And while Wilson has been excellent recently, and I’d consider taking him, I’m aware he’s had a lot of injury problems over the last eighteen months or so.

Welbeck has been fit and available all season, has a good record for England and is an effective option from the bench. He brings experience and also seems like a good character to have in a group when away on international tournaments.

I would bring Welbeck to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. I know this opinion won’t be shared with a lot of England fans, but I wanted to share the reasons behind my opinion.

Jack

Jack is at university studying sports journalism. He writes these articles for work experience.