The 2022 World Cup is set to take place in the middle of the Premier League season with a break of just over one month scheduled for the tournament.
Everton's last game will take place over the weekend of November 12/13 ahead of the call-up period for players heading to Qatar. The league will then resume on Boxing Day.
While the World Cup is more than five months away - and transfers and form will have a say in who is selected for their national squads - Frank Lampard will already have a rough idea over who he might lose for that period. Coming mid-season, the break could offer valuable time to work on tactics and fitness with those staying at Finch Farm and provide a vital chance to assess the early months of the season.
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The picture for Everton is now much clearer following the conclusion of the European qualifiers. Defeats for Scotland and Ukraine mean Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko will both miss out on the World Cup. Thirty of the thirty two countries have now qualified and the remaining two slots to be decided will be between Australia, Peru, New Zealand, UAE and Costa Rica. Everton currently have no first team squad members who represent those nations.
Of the current squad the two most likely to go to Qatar are Jordan Pickford and Richarlison. Pickford has held the England number one spot for the previous tournaments that saw England reach the World Cup semi-finals and Euros final. He was outstanding as he helped Everton secure safety - winning Premier League save of the season for his stop from Cesar Azpilicueta as the Blues secured a vital win over Chelsea. While his position could come under challenge from players such as Aaron Ramsdale of Arsenal, Pickford holds the spot for now and, barring injury, will surely feature in the England squad.
Richarlison was also integral to Everton's survival - so much so he is the subject of intense transfer speculation and has spoken with Lampard about his future. Should that remain on Merseyside it is difficult to see him not being selected for Brazil. He has been a prominent figure in recent squads and opened the scoring in a 5-1 win over South Korea last week then won the decisive penalty in a win over Japan this week.
Beyond Pickford and Richarlison, fitness and form will decide whether anyone else has a role. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has four goals in 11 appearances for the senior England side. While he has not been selected for the current Nations League squad it was chosen after a season in which he was plagued by injury. A good start to next season would have him in contention.
Several other Everton players have England experience including Michael Keane, Andros Townsend, Ben Godfrey - who was selected in the provisional England squad for Euro 2020 before missing out - and, most notably Dele Alli. Whether any of those players can make a case for contention - or younger players can force their way into Gareth Southgate's plans - will depend on whether they start next season so well they cannot be ignored. None have been selected for the Nations League squad though several, including Townsend and Godfrey, have had significant injury issues.
Elsewhere, Allan and Andre Gomes have previously featured for Brazil and Portugal but do not appear to be part of current plans. Moise Kean's future is the subject of speculation and the striker is halfway through a two year loan at Juventus. He was part of Italy's provisional Euro 2020 squad before missing out but has been called up by Roberto Mancini since and could end up going to Qatar if he can find form at the beginning of next season, though any call up would have no impact on Lampard's plans.
