Three goalkeepers will make up the final 23-man World Cup squad and it is virtually nailed on that Manchester City stopper Joe Hart will be one of them. Hart has had a topsy-turvy campaign for the Citizens this season with a series of high-profile blunders seeing him displaced by No.2 Costel Pantilimon earlier in the season, However, the 27-year-old has since bounced back to regain his place in Manuel Pellegrini's starting XI and will be expected to take his place in goal for this summer's finals. He will likely be backed up by reserve keepers Jack Butland, of Stoke City, and Celtic's Fraser Forster. 21-year-old Butland represents a risk in that he has only been capped once by England but he has a promising future, and travelling to Brazil can only boost his development. Forster has also only been capped by his country once but is a more experienced back-up to Hart having helped his club secure their 45th Scottish title this season. Missing Out? Norwich's John Ruddy, Ben Foster of West Brom and QPR's veteran stopper Rob Green will probably miss out. Ruddy was unfortunate to miss Euro 2012 with a broken finger and will likely be displaced once more by Butland. At 33. Foster's time has been and gone, while the 34-year-old Green is similarly out of contention.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
