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Tradition will be broken in late 2022 when the World Cup finals take
place in the middle of a European winter for the very first time. With
Qatar taking on hosting duties, and the decision wisely taken to avoid
the fierce heat of a Middle Eastern summer, June and July will be filled
internationally by the Nations League competition. Said outings may come a little too soon for Leeds United striker Patrick
Bamford to force his way back into the England squad, but he remains a
man very much in Gareth Southgate's thoughts. An unfortunate spell on
the sidelines has the Whites frontman out of the reckoning at present,
but that situation will change soon enough. If game time can be seen towards the end of the 2021-22 campaign, as
Jesse Marsch's side seek to avoid relegation, for which they are currently
poised with odds of 9/1 according to the outright Premier
League betting odds, then collective confidence can be restored. There
was, after all, a time not all that long ago when Premier
League tips would regularly side with Bamford when it came to the
priceless art of hitting the back of a net. The enigmatic character at Elland Road has answered every question asked
of him since stepping up into the big time, with a 17-goal showing in
2020-21 proving that he has what it takes to compete with the very best
in English football. Can't think of a better way to spend my birthday
???? a dream come true to make my debut for @england
?????? pic.twitter.com/dftriqtfIB His senior international debut was made against Andorra
in 2021 and the plan will be to avoid becoming another entry to the
list of one-cap wonders. Time is still on his side in that department,
particularly when it comes to World Cup ambitions. Were a global gathering to be taking place this summer, then there'd
be every chance that Bamford would find himself left on the outside looking
in. Through no real fault of his own, selection would likely fall agonisingly
out of reach. The delaying of FIFA's
flagship event until November could, however, work very much in his
favour. He now has a full pre-season and the start of a new campaign,
hopefully at the highest level, in which to work his way back into peak
form. Nobody has really grabbed hold of a position as Harry Kane's back-up
as of yet, with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Dominic Calvert-Lewin leaving
a door ajar for others to step through. Tammy Abraham's exploits at Roma
suggest that he will come back into the mix, but Bamford is still very
much in the picture. ??1??2??6??3?? It will, of course, be up to him to prove that he is deserving of another
call-up to Southgate's squad, with recent track records only keeping you
in the frame for so long before a 'what have you done for me lately' mentality
begins to prevail. Bamford has shown before that he has what it takes, and will believe
that he is capable of doing so again. There will be just 23 plane tickets
handed out when England settles on a final travelling party later this
year, with it up to Leeds' No.9 to show that he can make the most of a
timely scheduling bonus.
On the plane?
A #ThreeLions
debut for @Patrick_Bamford!
pic.twitter.com/0KqobNJFnV