Hello and welcome back to the Full 90. In this week’s edition, we will be discussing the future of the England 2026 World Cup team. As a precursor, I will note that this list is subject to change, as player injuries and performances may alter the team.
With their recent qualification for the World Cup and the summer of 2026 right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to give my predictions on how England will line up in hopes of bringing football home.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, during World Cup qualification, won six games and didn’t concede a single goal in those games. The German manager’s team deployed a 4-3-3 formation throughout these games, featuring wide wingers and two midfielders positioned below a center attacking midfielder. The team will strive to replicate this form going into the summer, and I believe that with this lineup, they might be able to do so.
Starting with the defense, Jordan Pickford, who has been the England number one between the sticks for quite some time, will be the starter in his penultimate tournament for the Lions. In front of him, there are many options in defense. Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea FC’s Reece James will be battling it out over the starting right fullback position; however, based on form this season, I believe James will beat out Trent for the spot. Tuchel appears to favor James on the right flank due to the relationship they formed during Tuchel’s time as Chelsea FC manager, from January 2021 to September 2022. The center back pairing will be a tough choice, but I believe the German head coach will deploy a pairing of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi in tandem with Manchester City defender John Stones. The left full-back position is an interesting debate, with the two most likely candidates seemingly being Arsenal’s Miles Lewis-Skelly and Tottenham’s Djed Spence. In all fairness, this position is wide open for the taking, and whoever performs better throughout the season will likely occupy it. Many fans lean towards Lewis-Skelly, but I would rather start Djed Spence, who has been exceptional going up and down the pitch over the past year or so.
Tuchel will have many headaches, and midfield seems to be the biggest of them all. Players such as Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton and Phil Foden all stake claims in the side. With all this quality, I believe the best will shine through. If it were my team, I would drop Jude Bellingham to the bench due to his lack of defensive work rate and tackling, and deploy a double pivot of Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace and Declan Rice of Arsenal, with Chelsea FC’s midfielder Cole Palmer in front of them, just behind the striker. Unfortunately, dropping Bellingham could cause all sorts of morale problems and could undermine the squad, so I believe Tuchel will see how a double pivot of Rice and Bellingham will perform, with Rice sitting deeper and letting Bellingham play as a box-to-box number eight. I believe Palmer will operate in the central attacking mid area, as the form he’s shown in that position over the last two years has been world-class. This midfield is by far the toughest selection within this team; however, these are good headaches to have for a head coach. With such high quality, I expect players like Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Morgan Rogers to influence the coach’s decision with strong performances throughout the season.
In attack, there are many options for Tuchel, with two wide wingers and England’s talisman up top. It seems likely that he will deploy Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka on the right side, looking to cut in on his lethal left foot and ability to send tantalizing crosses into dangerous areas. The left wing, on the other hand, has some fierce competition. I expect Newcastle United’s star man, Anthony Gordon, to run at defenders and cause mayhem on the left. However, strong performances from Marcus Rashford at Barcelona, as well as a promising career revival from Jack Grealish, who is on loan at Everton FC from Manchester City, could put pressure on Gordon. Maybe the easiest selection of all is England’s number 9 and their captain, Harry Kane, leading the line at striker. At 32, Kane hasn’t lost a step and seems to be getting better with age. The Englishman has already logged 18 goals and 3 assists with his club Bayern Munich, which is astonishing for only having played 10 games.
As I mentioned earlier, this is merely a preliminary prediction, and circumstances are likely to evolve. Around March, we will revisit this to assess how things have changed, taking into account player performances, injuries, and other relevant factors. This squad is strong and has the depth coming off the bench to bolster this lineup. They have a world-class manager in Tuchel, who knows how to win tournaments, and their form heading towards the summer has been impeccable. Will this be the year when football comes home? No one knows for sure, but one thing is clear. As each day passes, England fans will slowly and surely become increasingly familiar with the fact that this team could bring glory back to England for the first time since 1968. The stage is set; will they succeed, or will they crumble? Only time will tell.