FIFA World Cup coaches will have to send in the preliminary lists of their teams by Friday, as they are currently finalizing their selections for the finals in Qatar.
Each of the 32 participating nations must submit a roster of a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 55 players by the end of Friday, as a first step in the selection process.
Coaches will have until November 14 to make their decisions on their final 26-man squad by 6pm GMT. FIFA will publish all the lists the next day.
The final list must be chosen from the names of players in the preliminary list without allowing any late changes during the next three weeks, as stipulated by the regulations and rules of the tournament organized by FIFA.
FIFA will not publish the preliminary lists, but some countries may choose to do so to reveal their intentions and possibly end any potential controversy over the selections.
Defending champion France has a long list of injuries that coach Didier Deschamps must consider over the next few days, although the initial list is large enough to include players in a race against time to be ready for Qatar.
The debate over England’s right-back position may end when coach Gareth Southgate announces his options. There has been speculation about whether Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold was in his plans after he was recently snubbed.
Gabriel Jesus was left out of Brazil’s squad for two friendlies in France last month amid fierce competition for places in attack, despite his impressive form with new club Arsenal this season.
And the number of players in each final list for the World Cup increased to 26 instead of 23.
FIFA said in June that the decision to increase the number of players on the roster was taken due to the need to maintain additional flexibility due to the unique timing of this year’s tournament, which will intersect with the season in Europe.
The tournament runs from November 20 to December 18.
And FIFA took into account: the broader context of the devastating negative effects that the Corona pandemic had on teams before and during tournaments.
And the number of the initial list has increased to 55 players, after it was only 35 four years ago.
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