Clubs all around the world will break from their domestic leagues soon due to the 2022 World Cup taking place in Qatar in the middle of the season.
Although the decision to award Qatar with this year’s iconic international tournament has been hugely controversial, fans will still feel a sense of excitement as the competition edges closer to kicking off.
With less than two weeks to go before the 22nd World Cup takes place, England are preparing to face Iran, Wales and the USA in Group B.
Although heavy favourites to progress to the tournament’s knockout stage, manager Gareth Southgate is taking nothing for granted and has singled out America and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic as the biggest threat to the Three Lions.
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Speaking to ESPN about the Blues’ number 10, the 52-year-old said: “I obviously watched him [Pulisic] a fair bit at Dortmund as we had Jadon Sancho there at the time and then moving into Chelsea, I think that adaptation from the Bundesliga to the Premier League isn’t straightforward for a start.
“The level of the biggest games is similar if you’re playing Bayern Munich or [Red Bull] Leipzig, but then when you drop down the league, there’s a big difference between the spending power in the bottom half of the Premier League where they can basically take players from some of the biggest clubs in Europe and the bottom half of most of the other leagues in Europe where that depth isn’t there.
“So, I think that takes some adjusting to not only the physical nature of our league but the intensity of every match.
“Of course, he’s had two or three coaches to deal with, so I think there’s been moments where he’s looked like he’s on his way, he’s flowing and he’s got a coach that believes in him and he’s had to deal then with setbacks with injury.
“He would probably feel he hasn’t got quite to where he wants to get to yet, I’d imagine, but he’s a very good player and is a player when you’re looking at the opposition team sheet, he’s someone you’ve got to be aware of and got to be ready for.”
England’s Group B game against Gregg Berhalter’s USA is set to take place at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar on 25 November 2022.