England World Cup 2026: Breakdown of squad, odds and form as Tuchel springs surprises

As is typically the case when an England squad is announced ahead of a major tournament most of the focus is on who misses out.

In this instance, Phil Foden is the headline omission, with Cole Palmer's exclusion also raising the odd eyebrow. In truth, Thomas Tuchel was open to criticism whichever way he went with them.

Harry Maguire missing the cut is another talking point. Many assumed the Manchester United defender was a shoo-in, if only to capitalise on his World Cup experience. Lewis Hall, Adam Wharton, Morgan Gibbs-White and Jarrod Bowen meanwhile can all consider themselves unfortunate to be overlooked.

Such is the cruel nature of sport, however, that very soon these names will fade from our thoughts as we switch our attention to Tuchel's final 26, a collective compiled to beat the world's elite across the Atlantic this summer.

Presently, England are 17/102.70 to reach the semi-finals, 16/54.20 to make it to the final, and 6/17.00 to win the whole shebang.

Keepers - Pickford declining?

(Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford)

Barring injury, Jordan Pickford will play every minute at the World Cup. Even if the Three Lions beat Croatia and Ghana, it is unlikely he will be one of several players rested vs Panama.

The Everton stopper has made 82 appearances for England and kept 43 clean sheets. This season he has registered a 66.9% save percentage for the Toffees, down from 73.5% in 2024/25.

Defence - Solid back-line equals clean sheets

(Nico O'Reilly, Reece James, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence, Jarell Quansah)

Tuchel has prioritised versatility in his back-ups, which is never a bad thing. As for his starting quartet vs Croatia it will likely be James, Stones, Konsa and O'Reilly, going off non-friendly fixtures he has managed to this point.

That's assuming of course James and Stones are both fully fit come mid-June.

Given their absences it's not really fair to judge either player on their contributions this season but we certainly can with the other two. Konsa's stats show him to be solid and reliable, valuable traits in knock-out football, while winning 67.1% of his duels this term is a source of encouragement.

O'Reilly's breakout campaign has seen him in the running to win the Premier League Young Player of the Season.

From a defensive standpoint he has made 2.35 tackles per 90 while at the other end no top-flight full-back boasts more goal involvements (8).

This four started together at home to Serbia back in November, restricting the visitors to just a single shot on target.

Croatia are 5/42.25 to fire blanks in Arlington on July 17th.

Midfield - Rice and Anderson impress together

(Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Kobbie Mainoo)

Complimenting each other well, Rice and Anderson have formed the base of England's midfield on five occasions. In those games their combined stats are impressive, equating to three key passes per 90, 12 recoveries per 90, 62% of their ground duels won, and 453 accurate passes made in the opposition half.

Advanced of this pair a million column inches will be given over pre-World Cup to what role Bellingham may play, and whether Rogers will start at his expense against Croatia. The Villa man put in an exceptional late audition in the Europa League final midweek, scoring, assisting and being neat and impactful throughout.

Rogers has played 621 minutes for England under Tuchel compared to 375 minutes for Bellingham, though a shoulder injury partly accounts for this.

Attack - Kane main man but Saka offers up value

(Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon)

Ivan Toney's selection came out of left field, the striker previously playing just two minutes of international football under Tuchel. The 30-year-old has accrued 53 goal involvements from 37 outings for Al Ahli this season.

There will be much speculation in the coming weeks as to whether Toney can usurp Ollie Watkins as first-choice deputy up front. Both have it in them to be super-subs, each fulfilling this role at Euro 2024.

Of course, Harry Kane is the main man, how can he not be after firing a frankly ludicrous volume of goals for Bayern Munich this season. All told, Kane has converted 58 goals across all competitions in Germany, at a rate of a goal every 68.2 minutes.

Pertinently too, he has scored every 82 minutes for his country under Tuchel.

Which makes his 4/91.44 odds to finish as England's top goalscorer entirely understandable but Bukayo Saka does offer up good value at 8/19.00

Now recovered from an Achilles tendon problem, the Arsenal winger has scored two in four and could very conceivably head to the World Cup as a Champions League winner.

On the other flank, Marcus Rashford has staked his claim for a starting spot with a strong finish to 2025/26. Anthony Gordon has been benched for three games running by Newcastle, his head reportedly turned by interested parties.

He is 9/25.50 to be a Liverpool player by September 1st.

England starting XI v Croatia

Attention now turns to who Tuchel will pick for England's first World Cup group game against Croatia.

There are two friendlies to play before then, giving players the chance to impress and force their way in to Tuchel's starting XI, but right now, according to the Betfair odds, there's a 57% chance that the below will be the team he picks to play Croatia.

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