England have named their 26 man squad for the 2026 World Cup. There are a few surprises in the announcement, such as Ivan Toney, who has played approximately five minutes under Thomas Tuchel. Then there are the big names who have missed out such as Harry Maguire, Phil Foden and England’s goal-scorer in the Euro 2024 final, Cole Palmer. However, while there are some valid criticisms with this squad, as there is with every nation’s selection, Tuchel has picked what is overall a solid crop of players who stand every chance of ending the Three Lions’ 60 years of hurt. Here is an overview of the entire squad and a justification of the more controversial selections.
Goalkeepers – Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, James Trafford
No real question marks here. Pickford has been England’s number one for the last four tournaments and will head into his fifth still as first choice. Henderson will likely be number two and Trafford, a potential future number will go as the third choice. Nick Pope may feel hard done by but it’s difficult to imagine many will disagree with this trio, especially given Trafford’s potential to be number one in a few years and the value of gaining tournament experience before then.
Defenders – Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Tino Livramento, Nico O’Reilly, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, John Stones
James, Konsa, Guehi and O’Reilly pick themselves and that will likely be the back four providing all players are fit. No Maguire is a surprise as he has had a solid season and brings tournament experience. Stones has not started a Premier League game since October but given he has been England’s best performing centre back in the 21st century (not the same as best English centre back), picking him is understandable. Quansah has been a consistent starter for Bayer Leverkusen all season but predominantly on the right side of a back three. Maguire, who has re-established himself as a starter for Manchester United, who are in tremendous form, has played on the left side for England in multiple major tournaments, so an injury to Guehi would mean either Quansah, a right-sided centre back, fills in at left centre back, or Burn, who has mainly played left back for Newcastle this season, moves to centre half. Given Maguire’s aerial threat as well, it is a surprise to see him left out, although no one can deny 6′ 7″ Dan Burn is also a threat from set pieces, a key factor in tournament football, and is arguably more versatile than Maguire given his experience at centre back and left back. While Quansah lacks the experience with just one England cap, his pace and physical ability makes him a player Tuchel likes.
No Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t too much of a shock given Tuchel clearly doesn’t favour him. It would have been good to have someone with such impressive natural ability to be on the plane but Spence provides the versatility of being able to play both right back and left back, as does Livramento.
Midfielders – Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers
Anderson, Bellingham and Rice will hopefully be the starting midfield, one that can contend with any midfield in the tournament. Rogers has had an excellent season and will be a crucial player off the bench. Mainoo has reignited his exciting young career under Michael Carrick so is no surprise. Many are not happy with the exclusion of Morgan Gibbs-White and the frustrations are understandable. The Nottingham Forest midfielder scored 14 goals and registered four assists for a team placed 16th in the Premier League at the time of writing. However, Eze, who seems to be the man that has taken his place, has stepped up in big moments for Arsenal this season. Five goals in North London Derbies, the opening goal of a Champions League second leg, and the only goal in a 1-0 win late on in the season with Arsenal fighting for the title. Gibbs-White is an unfortunate victim of England’s talent pool in his position, but it is not as if Eze being the player picked instead is a massive drop in quality.
Henderson is the most controversial name amongst the midfielders. Adam Wharton will be gutted to miss out and, based on talent alone, he probably should be in this squad. But international football is not about picking the 26 best players, and England managers have aways seemed to face criticism over trying to fit in all the best players. Henderson is a leader who has won everything at club level and, while his form on the pitch has been far from excellent, there is not a better leader who has been there and won it all in this team. Up until 2022, international squads were limited to 23 players so there is zero chance all 23 outfield players feature in this tournament. Henderson will likely be one that doesn’t see many minutes, and if he does it will either be against Panama in the group stage, with England having hopefully already topped the group, or to see out a lead, something that he has done countless times in big games. But Henderson’s dressing room presence is why he has been picked, and that matters a great deal to Tuchel, who also knows what it takes to win big competitions.
Forwards – Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins
Kane, Saka and Rashford, all title winners this season, should be the front three, although some may feel Gordon may start. Watkins, who at one point this season looked as if he may miss out, has been excellent in the crunch part of the football calendar. Toney is one of the biggest surprises in this squad, especially considering the form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck. However, the former Brentford man has been excellent for Al-Hilal, scoring 32 goals and providing seven assists in 32 games in the Saudi Pro League, with a goal every 86 minutes. Of course, it is not the highest quality league but the stats would suggest he hasn’t lost the form that made him one of the Premier League’s top strikers before he left in August 2024, and if he was still delivering for Brentford, which his form suggests he likely would be, almost no one would pick either Calvert-Lewin or Welbeck ahead of him. In addition to his strong season, Toney is an expert penalty taker, scoring 58/62 in his career, having also scored in a major tournament shootout.
Of course, there is another man that fits the above description who has missed out on this squad. Cole Palmer’s place has been taken by former Chelsea teammate, Noni Madueke. Six goal contributions for Arsenal this season does make it a surprise that Madueke is in the squad. However, there is logic behind Tuchel’s selection. As stated before, England managers have often been criticised for trying to fit too many big names in the squad. Picture this, England have won each of their first two games 1-0 but both starting wingers have been deemed to play poorly by fans and the media. Would it be healthy for the squad to have the media inevitably hounding Tuchel over whether Palmer should start next despite England being top of the group with two wins? The fact is, if Palmer was coming off an excellent season, this argument over not including all the big names would have much less of a case, but he has not hit the heights of his 23/24 season for some time. The same logic can be applied to Phil Foden. Both are extremely talented players but they have both had disappointing seasons. If they were to go to the World Cup, both players would start on the bench and fans would inevitably scream for them to start at the first sign of a sub-par performance from either starting winger, when realistically Palmer or Foden haven’t proven they are in the form to change a game, despite their big name status.
Summary
Thomas Tuchel has picked a squad which is a cohesive unit. The strong culture in camp is what has brought England back to being a contender and Tuchel has made that a priority while keeping strong depth. Some big names missing out brings frustration and that is understandable. However, the England manager said at the start of his press conference following the squad announcement, ‘from day one we were very clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect (the) 26 most talented players.’ Tuchel is a manager that will not listen to the outside noise, noise which is famous for being particularly loud for the England Men’s National Team, and will stick to his guns, with his resume giving him the right to do so. The Three Lions still go into this tournament with one of the strongest starting lineups in the competition and a bench with the attacking options of: Rogers, Eze, Gordon, Watkins, Toney and Madueke. It may not be as star-studded as the likes of France or Spain but there is no doubt this squad has a chance of going all the way, especially with a manager who prioritises winning over satisfying the media.