Joe Hart Could Be Axed From England's 2018 World Cup Squad After Dismal Season With West Ham

Joe Hart could be set to hit a new low as he risks being omitted from England's World Cup squad entirely.

Hart has been England's first-choice goalkeeper for the last three major international tournaments, but his poor performances at club level in recent years have seen him slip down the pecking order.

He was one of four goalkeepers included in Gareth Southgate's squad during the most recent international break but did not see any action in either of England's games.

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Jordan Pickford kept a clean sheet against the Netherlands before Jack Butland also performed admirably against Italy, only conceding to a late Lorenzo Insigne penalty.

The Burnley duo of Nick Pope and Tom Heaton are also in contention for a place in the squad, and the Mirror understands that Hart's poor form may mean that he is not even on the plane to Russia this summer.

World Cup squads usually contain three goalkeepers, meaning that one of the other four will also miss out. It is likely that this will be Heaton, who has suffered an injury-blighted season at Turf Moor.

Hart has endured a torrid few years for both club and country. At Euro 2016 he was culpable for the goal that knocked England out, allowing Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's shot to creep under his body in a humiliating defeat to Iceland.

Later that summer he was farmed out on loan to Torino by new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, and his inconsistent form continued in Serie A.

Upon returning to England last summer he was loaned out to West Ham, but his poor performances eventually saw him dropped, and Adrian was preferred.

After three months without league action he appears to have won his place back, and kept his first Premier League clean sheet since September in a 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday.