Gareth Southgate has hinted that he will rely on his experienced players for England's World Cup squad rather than make too many changes in reaction to their poor form.
England are five games without a win, and also without a goal in open play, while they were relegated from their Nations League group with defeat to Italy on Friday. Their final Nations League clash with Germany on Monday is their last game before the opening World Cup group game vs Iran on November 21.
Despite the poor form, Southgate insists the schedule before the World Cup means he may have to stick with the players he has relied upon in recent years - which include five Manchester City players.
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"We've got to make sure [because] there's two days between matches, any physical constraints, we've got to still look after the players. A two day turnaround isn't ideal," he said when discussing the need to balance any changes against Germany against building momentum for the players likely to play at the World Cup.
"We have a squad of players with a lot of caps, we have to make sure we're not wasting opportunities to have a look at things. We're homing in on a World Cup and we don't have any matches after this so there's a greater emphasis on trying to bed things down as much as we can
"I spoke when we named the squad about it not being an ideal situation for some players at this moment in time, but there's so much football for them with their clubs with European matches, League Cup. That's putting aside the chance of injuries changes in form for clubs. I'm confident our guys will get football. And some will get more than we'd like in an ideal world so there's a balance."
Southgate's assessment of his squad suggests players like Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish will be given places in the Qatar squad, and will likely play important roles for England at the World Cup.
It would also suggest that Kalvin Phillips would be set for another starting brief after his role at Euro 2020, however the City midfielder has just undergone surgery on a shoulder injury and faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
Offering a new update on Phillips, Southgate said: "You only have to see the quality in his performances for us and Leeds and the fact he's moved to a big club to see his level. When he came into the squad and played a massive part in out run to the European final.
"The honest answer is we don't know [if he will be fit for the World Cup, it's obviously going to be very tight. Whether there can be enough football to be in realistic consideration. We're always optimistic. When there's a target and somebody is really optimistic it's amazing what the body can do.
"We're going to have to wait and see and from his point of view he's disappointed to miss this camp but fully focussed on getting back for us and for his club."
Stones will likely return to the England side vs Germany after missing the Italy trip through suspension, while Foden and Walker will hope to regain their starting spots. Grealish will miss the game after picking up a late booking in Italy for dissent.
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