Everton's plans for the Premier League winter break have started to take shape following confirmation the club will travel to Australia.
The Blues are set to play two fixtures in the Sydney Super Cup as they head Down Under for the first time since 2010. The tour is part of what will be a fascinating period as domestic football halts for the winter World Cup in Qatar.
The Australian tour plans, the final World Cup qualifiers and the opening weeks of the summer transfer window have all provided further insight into what Blues fans can expect during the six week break.
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Everton's final game before the Premier League season halts is an away trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, November 12. The tie with Celtic in the 83,500 capacity Accor Stadium in Sydney will take place on the eve of the World Cup, on November 20. The tournament then starts on November 21 with four games, including England's match with Iran.
Everton's game with Western Sydney Wanderers then falls on November 23 - the same day as World Cup games involving Belgium, Croatia, Spain and Germany. A number of fan events are also due to take place while the Blues are in Australia.
On Thursday, Frank Lampard said he would look to take a strong side on the tour, explaining: "We are really looking forward to travelling to Australia later this year. The winter World Cup has provided us with this opportunity to visit an amazing country and play against really strong opposition. We’ve also got a lot of passionate Evertonians in Australia and we can’t wait to catch up with them. Other than the players on duty at the World Cup, we will be taking our strongest possible squad. This promises to be a very worthwhile tour on every level, and we are delighted to be making the trip.”
The departure of Richarlison, expected to be part of the Brazil squad, has simplified the equation for Everton - at least ahead of any further transfers. Following the defeats suffered by Ukraine and Scotland in the post-season qualifiers, meaning Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson will not be among those heading to the World Cup, the only player currently expected to be involved in Qatar is England number one Jordan Pickford. Others could force their way into their national sides - Ben Godfrey made the Euro 2020 provisional England squad, for instance, while Anthony Gordon has impressed in the Under-21s and Dele Alli was a key part of the run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
The player perhaps closest to regaining a place in their national squad is Dominic Calvert-Lewin. After last season was blighted by injury the striker provided the iconic diving header that secured survival against Crystal Palace and has spoken of his desire to fight for a return to the England squad.
Commenting in April, after not being selected for the most recent international squad, he explained: “In my opinion, I belong there but I didn’t do enough in the previous games for Everton to warrant a place. I am realistic, this is England, there are a lot of good players to pick from. I’d have an argument if I’d been scoring goals. But I look at my performances since I’ve come back and they’ve been hit and miss.
“For the standard I set myself, and coming back from injury, there is more to come. The [England] manager didn’t speak to me but I am not high maintenance, so it didn’t need a conversation. If I was hitting the onion bag every week, I’d have been called up. That is where I belong and want to be – I am working hard to get in a position where I feel I deserve to be there and I know what I need to do.”
Should Calvert-Lewin - or any further Blues - force their way into their nation's World Cup squad then it would likely mean a good start to the season for Everton.
The expected lack of players with commitments in Qatar could prove useful to Lampard and his coaching staff, providing a physical and psychological break midway through the season and an opportunity to reassess targets and plot out the remainder of the campaign. Even with the Australia tour there is currently more than one month between the second game in Sydney and the Boxing Day tie with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park.
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