England World Cup squad: Who's picked and which big names miss out?

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·22 May 2026

England World Cup squad: Who's picked and which big names miss out?

Huge snubs being announced ahead of official squad confirmation

Thomas Tuchel will this morning announce his England squad for the 2026 World Cup, with 26 players set to book their place on the plane across the pond.

OneFootball Videos

The summer tournament, which is consist of 48 teams for the first time, kicks off in less than a month, so work will soon begin for Tuchel and his picked players.

The fate of a remarkable number of players have been circulating in the media in the hours leading up to Tuchel’s announcement.

Here’s the lay of the land as we know it, or has been reported...

London Standard

Who’s in?

Standard Sport understands that Noni Madueke is set to earn a call-up to England’s World Cup squad after helping Arsenal to a first Premier League title in 22 years. Despite struggling with fitness this season, Madueke's performances when fit been enough to catch Thomas Tuchel’s eye.

It will be Madueke’s first appearance at a major tournament. He has ten senior England caps to his name thus far in his career, notching a single goal in a 5-0 defeat of Serbia last September and adding a further three assists. He will likely join Arsenal team-mates and England regulars Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka in the squad.

Captain Harry Kane will reportedly have Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney as his back-up options in attack, while Marcus Rashford - who has impressed on loan at Barcelona this season - will provide support from out wide. Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, a transfer target for Kane’s Bayern Munich, has also reportedly got the nod.

Joining Rice in central midfield will be Jude Bellingham, and Elliot Anderson after a hugely impressive season with Nottingham Forest.

The other options remain up for debate, but Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo will reportedly be rewarded for his 15 Premier League starts in the second half of season, and should be joined by Morgan Rogers, fresh from his Europa League triumph with Aston Villa, and veteran Jordan Henderson.

Defensive options are expected to include Manchester City pair John Stones and Marc Guehi, helped by Ezri Konsa and the versatile Dan Burn. Reece James and Tino Livramento should battle it out for left-back, while Nico O'Reilly and Djed Spence will vie for minutes on the opposite flank.

Jordan Pickford will be the first-choice goalkeeper once again, with Dean Henderson and James Trafford his likely back-ups.

Harry Maguire has confirmed his snubbing

Getty

Who’s out?

Neither Levi Colwill nor Cole Palmer are expected to be named in England’s squad for this summer’s World Cup. Colwill ruptured his ACL in pre-season training last summer and has been limited to just three first-team appearances this season. Palmer, meanwhile, has struggled for form this season, thanks in part to niggling injuries which held him back for much of the campaign. He has come up with just 13 goal contributions in 33 appearances across all competitions.

Debate had raged for some time as to which of England’s talented No10s would win over Tuchel, but Palmer, scorer of a last-gasp equaliser in 2024’s Euros final, will not be the chosen man. Morgan Rogers and Morgan Gibbs-White may get the nod in his absence.

Harry Maguire has been left “shocked” by Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of England’s World Cup squad. The Manchester United centre-back has enjoyed an impressive campaign, but will not be named in Thomas Tuchel’s tournament squad when it is released on Friday.

Maguire, 33, has made 22 Premier League appearances this campaign, keeping seven clean sheets in doing so. As with many of his United team-mates, he has been particularly strong since Michael Carrick’s appointment.

It has been widely reported that Newcastle’s Lewis Hall has not made the cut, in arguably the biggest shock. He was many onlookers’ pick to start at left-back. That could leave the door open for Myles Lewis-Skelly, but he faces stiff competition from Spence. Fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is not expected to be called up.

Another huge potential snub is Morgan Gibbs-White, who led Forest’s escape from relegation and will surely be set for a huge move this summer. Also missing out, despite looking nearly nailed on a few months ago, is Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton. Fikayo Tomori had his chance in the March friendlies, but also appears to have not made the cut.

Jarrod Bowen, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck have all impressed in patches this season, but quite surprisingly may miss out with Toney preferred as third-choice striker.