England boss Gareth Southgate has reportedly declined to inform players if they have been included in his provisional 55-man squad for the World Cup.
The FA handed FIFA a long list of names before that gets cut down to a 26-man squad in three weeks' time. There is now under a month to go before the tournament kicks off, with England's first game coming against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Players who have been on the fringes of the squad, or even left out of recent international games altogether, are hoping to convince Southgate to put them on the plane. The likes of James Maddison have also been attempting to force their way into his plans with their standout performances in the Premier League.
But according to the Daily Mail, those players will have no idea if they have successfully worked their way into Southgate's plans until 14 November. It is claimed that the Three Lions boss has opted not to inform those in the provisional squad that they have been included.
The long list will not be published and the players' clubs have also not been informed who has made the squad. Southgate is said to be seeking to 'avoid distractions' and keep his cards close to his chest leading into the World Cup.
It means the likes of Maddison have been left in the dark about their hopes of jetting to Qatar this winter. Instead, the FA are said to view 14 November as the real deadline, with the long list merely an 'administrative issue'.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who should be in England's 26-man squad for the World Cup? Comment below.
Southgate has come under increasing pressure over the past year amid a dreadful Nations League campaign. England were relegated from their division, but Southgate insisted that he remains the right man for the job.
"Look, I think that's currently where it is and I have to accept that. I think I'm the right person to take the team into the tournament. I think it's more stable that way, without a doubt," he said last month.
"I don't think (the) performance (against Italy) was far off and I know that's going to get derision just because we're on the back of a run of defeats. But I've got to separate the summer and the circumstances around the summer.
"We're playing and have been playing some top-level sides and we will be better for that. And the younger players, in particular, that have been in these games will have learned a lot from them.
"In the past we've had runs of friendlies or whatever the matches are and then we've gone into tournaments and that's the first time we've hit high-level opposition and it's hit us in the face quite often. Now we know the level, now we know what we've got to improve and we'll be better placed for that by having had the quality of matches that we've had."
