England 2026 World Cup Squad: One Opta Fact for Each of Thomas Tuchel’s 26 Selections | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has named his 26-man England squad for the 2026 World Cup. We have one interesting piece of data about each member of the Three Lions’ travelling party.

The wait is finally over, and we now know the 26 players Thomas Tuchel will be taking with him to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

There will be plenty of debate about the final selection, with surprise omissions including Harry Maguire, Lewis Hall, Adam Wharton, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

However, to give Three Lions fans hope ahead of this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, here’s one stat to suggest why each member of the England squad deserves to be there.

Goalkeepers

Jordan Pickford – Only three goalkeepers have overperformed their expected goals on target against (xGOT) more than Pickford in the Premier League this season (+3.9).

Excludes own goals as they don’t have an xG value

Dean Henderson – Only four goalkeepers have made more saves than Crystal Palace stopper Henderson in the Premier League this season (101).

James Trafford – Has only played 16 times for Manchester City in all competitions this season but has still overperformed his xGOT by over five goals (11 conceded from 16.04 xGOT).

Defenders

Reece James – Only recently returned from injury but was excellent in the first half of the campaign. James’ assist for João Pedro in Chelsea’s 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa on 27 December was his sixth Premier League goal involvement for the season in 17 games (2 goals, 4 assists), as many as he had managed in his previous three seasons in the competition (2 goals, 4 assists in 45 games).

Tino Livramento – Injuries have made it another difficult season for Livramento, but of Newcastle players to have played at least 1,000 minutes, only Lewis Hall (6.0) and Joelinton (5.7) have won possession per 90 in all competitions more often than him (5.4).

John Stones – Of players to attempt at least 500 passes at the World Cup since 1966, Stones has the best passing accuracy of anyone (95%, 880 of 926 passes).

Ezri Konsa – Prior to playing in March’s 1-0 friendly loss to Japan at Wembley, Konsa had ended on the winning side in each of his last 11 England appearances, the joint longest winning run by a defender in Three Lions’ history (level with Bob Crompton – 11 from 1908 to 1910).

Marc Guéhi – Has impressed since making a January move to Man City, not least in their 3-0 win at Guéhi’s former club Chelsea where he led all players for completed passes (101 of 102), line-breaking passes (23), duels won (8 of 9) and interceptions (3).

Jarell Quansah – The former Liverpool defender moved to the Bundesliga for regular games last summer, and it has clearly paid off. Of Bayer Leverkusen players, only Robert Andrich (33) made more interceptions for Die Werkself this season in the league than Quansah (27), with the latter playing five fewer games (32-27).

Dan Burn – May be more known for his aerial prowess, but across the last five UEFA World Cup qualifying campaigns, only Spain legend Xavi in 2014 qualifying (125) averaged more successful passes per 90 than Burn did in 2026 qualifying (116).

Nico O’Reilly – Has five goals and three assists in the league this season, largely from left-back, and has really earned the trust of Pep Guardiola. Only Bernardo Silva (37) and Erling Haaland (35) have played more league games for Man City than O’Reilly (34).

Djed Spence – Like everyone at Tottenham, it has been a difficult season for Spence. However, he has played in eight of Spurs’ nine Premier League wins; only four of his teammates have featured in all nine victories, and all have made more than his 29 league appearances.

Midfielders

Declan Rice – Has created 17 big chances – a chance from which a team would reasonably be expected to score – in the Premier League this season, more than any other English player.

Elliot Anderson – Has won possession 302 times in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest this season. No other player from Europe’s top five leagues has won possession even 200 times (Bournemouth’s Alex Scott second with 195).

Kobbie Mainoo – His recall under Michael Carrick has coincided with Manchester United’s improvement in form. They have won 18 of the 27 league games Mainoo has played this season. Only Casemiro and Luke Shaw (both 19) have taken part in more Premier League wins for the club, but both have played in far more games (34 and 37 respectively).

Jordan Henderson – Of Brentford players to have played at least 500 minutes in the Premier League this season, Henderson has averaged the most passes per 90 (54.3) while only Vitaly Janelt (0.27) and Mikkel Damsgaard (0.18) have averaged more assists per 90 than him (0.15).

Jude Bellingham – Since the start of the 2024-25 season, only three midfielders have scored more goals in La Liga than Real Madrid’s Bellingham (14 in 58 games).

Eberechi Eze – He’s now a Premier League title winner, but Eze could be a useful substitute at the World Cup. In November, Eze became only the second player to score his first three goals for England as a sub, along with Harry Kane in 2015.

Morgan Rogers – Has just won the Europa League player of the tournament after lifting the trophy with Aston Villa. Assisted five goals in the competition this season, the joint most by an English player in a single campaign, along with Bukayo Saka in 2019-20.

Forwards

Marcus Rashford – The Barcelona loanee recorded 14 goals and 11 assists for the Catalan club this season, the same figures as Morgan Rogers for Aston Villa, but in seven fewer appearances (48-55).

Anthony Gordon – He became just the second Englishman to reach double figures for goals in a single UEFA Champions League campaign this season (10), after Harry Kane in 2024-25 (11).

Bukayo Saka – Aged 24 years and 255 days when he provided the assist for Kai Havertz in Arsenal’s win over Burnley on Monday, Saka became the second youngest player in Premier League history to register both 50+ goals and 50+ assists, behind only Wayne Rooney (24y 84d).

Noni Madueke – Has struggled for game time at Arsenal this season, but per 90 minutes in the Premier League in 2024-25 when at Chelsea, Madueke had the most shots following a ball carry (1.6), the second most touches in the opposition box (8.8) and the joint-fourth most shots (3.5).

Harry Kane – Not including the FIFA Club World Cup, Harry Kane has scored 58 goals in all competitions this season, at least 17 more than any other player from Europe’s top five leagues.

Ollie Watkins – Watkins recently became only the third Premier League player to reach 100 goals in all competitions in the time since he made his Aston Villa debut (15 September 2020), after Mohamed Salah (159) and Erling Haaland (157).

Ivan Toney – A slightly surprising inclusion but Tuchel has clearly been impressed by the former Brentford striker’s form. Toney has 42 goals and 11 assists in 37 games in all competitions for Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli this season. Plus, he’s very good at penalties…

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