England at the 2026 Soccer World Championship: Roster, Predictions, and Statistics

The England national team will travel to North America in an attempt to secure their first trophy in 60 years. The Lions were one step away from success at the last two Euros, but had to settle for silver medals, and at the World Cup in Qatar they were stopped in the quarterfinals. Now Gareth Southgate has given way to a new architect - and the English are again among the main contenders.

Bookmakers consider Thomas Tuchel's England team to be the third favourite to win - behind Spain and France. Let's see if the odds are justified and get acquainted with the squad of the fourth-ranked team in the FIFA rankings.

In brief:

• England has only won the World Cup once - back in 1966. This is the only trophy in the history of the Three Lions. Since then, their best achievement at the World Cups has been reaching the semi-finals in 1990 and 2018.
• Harry Kane is heading to his third World Cup. The 32-year-old forward is second on the list of England's top scorers in World Cup history (8 goals), trailing only Gary Lineker (10 goals).
• Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice have been included in the England squad. Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and Phil Foden have been left out.
• Bookmakers rate England's chances of winning the World Cup at 11%, and their chances of reaching the final at 19%.
• In the group stage of the World Cup, England will play against Croatia, Ghana and Panama.

England squad for the 2026 World Cup

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City).

Defenders: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Dan Burn, Valentino Livramento (both Newcastle), Marc Guehi, John Stones, Nico O'Riley (all Manchester City), Jarell Quansa (Bayer), Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice (both Arsenal), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa).

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka (both Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

Head coach: Thomas Tuchel

Main Star

Without a doubt, it's Harry Kane. At the World Cup in Qatar, the English captain scored two goals, and he has eight accurate strikes in his entire World Cup career. If Kane scores at least three goals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, he will become England's top scorer in World Cup history, surpassing Gary Lineker (10). Bookmakers see Harry as the second contender for the Golden Boot of the tournament after Kylian Mbappe, which is not surprising after an outstanding club season. At 32, the Bayern Munich forward has scored 58 goals - at least 17 more than any other player in the top 5 European leagues.

Main Problem of England

At the club level, England has several players capable of playing the "number 10" role, but Tuchel did not take any of them. Phil Foden and Cole Palmer unexpectedly dropped out of the squad. The German himself explainedIt's like this: "We're trying to assemble the best team, not the 26 most talented players, it's that simple." But then who will be making the final pass to Kane? Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers are more insiders than pure dispatchers, and Jude Bellingham is more box-to-box than a playmaker. Despite all the star power, England lacks a player who will consistently deliver the ball to Kane in the penalty area. This appears to be the main architectural flaw of the team.

Young Talents

Nico O’Riley is one of the standout discoveries of the season. At 21, he has become a key player for Manchester City, playing the role of an inverted left-back. O’Riley shifted to the central zone during play and overloaded the opponent's penalty area in the final stage, becoming Pep Guardiola's cheat code. The nominal midfielder has 5 goals and 3 assists in the past Premier League season. Thomas Tuchel sees him as the main left-back, which is why he left Luke Shaw out of the squad.

Another Three Lions talent is Kobbie Mainoo. Also 21, also Manchester, but United. The midfielder has become a solid player for the Red Devils under Michael Carrick. Mainu is not afraid to receive the ball under pressure and rarely makes mistakes in his passes. Tuchel could use him in the defensive midfield to control the pace. Unlike O’Riley, Kobbie already has a major tournament under his belt - Euro 2024, during which he, still a youngster, broke into the starting lineup.

Who will miss the 2026 World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has made a number of controversial decisions, for which he will face harsh criticism in case of a poor performance. The main shock was the non-call-up of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has recovered from injury and has become a key player for Real Madrid. The German also left out Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Morgan Gibbs-White, citing an excess of "number tens". Adam Worton lost out in the competition for a position to Mainu and Anderson. There was also no place in the team for deserving veterans who played a key role under Southgate - Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.

England's Form

Qualification

England qualified for the 2026 World Cup without a single defeat, and moreover - without conceding a single goal. No one else has achieved such a feat in qualification. A goal difference of 22:0 looks impressive even with a discount on the level of competitors: the most serious opponents were Serbia (5:0; 2:0) and Albania (2:0; 2:0). Harry Kane scored 8 goals in eight matches, and Thomas Tuchel dispelled skepticism about his choice as head coach.

Recent Results

However, after the end of the qualification, Thomas Tuchel's charges played two friendly matches and were not at all impressive. In March, the English drew with Uruguay (1:1), and even lost to Japan with a score of 0:1, leaving many questions about the quality of their game. Moreover, all this was at Wembley.

Preparation for the World Cup

Before the tournament, England will play two warm-up matches, the aim of which will be to adapt to the weather conditions of North America. The match with New Zealand will take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (June 6), and on June 10, at the Inter-end-Co Stadium in Orlando, the Three Lions will face Costa Rica.

England's match schedule for the 2026 World Cup

England's chances of advancing from the group

Bookmakers are absolutely confident in England's advancement to the playoffs. The probability that the Three Lions will take first place in the group is estimated at 74%, and not advancing from the group – only 2%.

Bookmaker odds for the England team at the 2026 World Cup

Why England might not win the World Cup

England's squad is arguably the most expensive in the tournament, valued at over a billion euros, but there are three "buts". First: Thomas Tuchel only took over the Three Lions in January 2025, having been at the helm for 12 matches. The German previously had no experience working with national teams. He won the Champions League, but club football is significantly different from national team football.

Second: England's World Cup history is not encouraging. After triumphing at the home World Cup in 1966, the English only reached the semi-finals twice (1990, 2018) and never played in the final. Pressure and expectations are a heavy burden that the Three Lions do not always withstand.

Third: the psychology of penalties. If a playoff match goes to a penalty shootout, even the most mentally strong players can falter. At the 2018 World Cup, the English broke a streak of five unsuccessful post-match shootouts in all tournaments by beating Colombia (5:4), but in 2021 they lost to Italy (3:4) in the final of the home Euro at Wembley. The aura of losers in penalty kicks may again hinder reaching the coveted title.

Prediction for the England team

The key match for England in the group stage will be the meeting with Croatia. A victory with a high probability guarantees the first playoff round against the team that finished third in one of the groups (most likely, Norway, Algeria or Ecuador), and the second round - against Mexico, Sweden or Senegal. The Three Lions are obliged to pass all these opponents. Therefore, betting on England's advance to the quarterfinals with odds of 1.80* seems viable - it proved profitable at the two previous World Cups.

Another interesting option is England's total goals in the group over 6.5 for 1.85*. At the World Cup in Qatar, the English were the highest scoring team of the group stage (9 goals). The opponents they have now are such that this achievement can be repeated. Harry Kane will be aiming for a record, so we don't envy the Panama team, into whose goal the forward scored a hat-trick in 2018.

Among the options against the English, it's definitely worth paying attention to Croatia's goal in the opening match with odds of 1.65*. England conceded in the last four opening games at the World Cup: from the USA (1:1), Italy (1:2), Tunisia (2:1) and Iran (6:2), while at the time of writing, the Croats scored in 9 out of their last 10 matches. The Three Lions defense with an experimental combination of defenders at the start of the tournament seems vulnerable.

More predictions for all 2026 World Cup games will be available in the tournament section starting from June 9.

*Odds are approximate, may vary in different bookmakers and are current at the time of publication

If you are interested in detailed analyses of the chances of the top national teams at the 2026 World Cup, you can also read the following articles:

• France National Team at the 2026 World Cup: squad, prediction, and statistics
• Prediction for Brazil National Team’s performance at the 2026 World Cup
• What will Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup be like?
• List of all national team friendly games before the World Cup: which matches to watch and how to bet on them?