An absolutely insane XI left out of England’s 2026 World Cup squad | OneFootball

England’s final World Cup squad is in and some big names have been cut from the list by Thomas Tuchel.

We’ve put together a line-up of players who won’t be on the plane to North America this summer after being left out of the 26-man squad.

It’s an impressive group, but how far would this team have gone in the World Cup themselves?

GK: Aaron Ramsdale

A member of England’s 2022 World Cup squad, Ramsdale has been battling for the Newcastle number one spot with Nick Pope while on loan from Southampton this season.

Only starting 11 Premier League games didn’t help his case for a call up over Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson and James Trafford.

Ramsdale was an unused sub for England’s March friendly with Uruguay, but won’t be adding to his five caps at the World Cup.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold’s international career just can’t get going and it might never. First he found competition from Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier tough to overcome.

Now those two are out of the way, but Alexander-Arnold’s debut season at Real Madrid hasn’t been overly convincing.

Thus, the right-backs being taken instead of the 27-year-old are Reece James, Tino Livramento and Djed Spence.

Alexander-Arnold, who made one appearance each at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, has only been given 26 minutes of football by Tuchel.

CB: Harry Maguire (c)

“Shocked and gutted” was how Maguire described his feelings at being left out “after the season I’ve had” for Manchester United.

That season has only included 18 Premier League starts, but he did have time out with a thigh injury and has proven himself again under Michael Carrick.

Maguire was a massive part of England’s semi-final run at the 2018 World Cup and went to Qatar in 2022 as well, but at the age of 33, has probably missed his last chance for another World Cup.

We’ll give him the captain’s armband for this XI if that makes it up to him (it won’t).

CB: Fikayo Tomori

Tuchel took a look at Tomori in the March international break, providing his first cap since November 2023 and only his sixth overall.

It remains a mystery to some why a player now so firmly established at AC Milan, where he’s been playing for the past five years, doesn’t get much faith from his national team.

Tomori has 30 Serie A starts to his name this season, which has helped him surpass 200 appearances in total for the Italian giants.

LB: Lewis Hall

Beaten to the squad by his Newcastle teammate Dan Burn – with Nico O’Reilly expected to be the starting left-back – Hall will feel unlucky after playing in 29 Premier League games this season.

Still only 21, two of his four caps for England so far came in the March international break.

CM: Adam Wharton

Wharton could well be one of the most in-demand midfielders in this summer’s transfer market, but he won’t be boosting his profile at the World Cup.

That might not be the worst news for the 22-year-old’s admirers, since a good World Cup could have inflated his price.

The Crystal Palace star has four caps for England to his name so far, most recently in March. More will come, just not yet.

CM: Morgan Gibbs-White

With 17 goals and seven assists for an underwhelming Nottingham Forest side this season, Gibbs-White was seen as a more in-form option for an attacking midfield role than some bigger names at better teams.

In the end, some of the players he was being compared favourably with haven’t made it either. But that doesn’t mean Gibbs-White shouldn’t feel a bit hard done by.

He’s played six times for England before, but never as a starter and not since October.

RW: Jarrod Bowen

Like Gibbs-White, it’s been a season spent near the bottom of the table for Bowen with West Ham and it looks likely to end in relegation.

But Bowen’s best efforts to halt the slide have been a collection of eight goals and 10 assists in the league – contributing to over 40% of their goals.

Bowen played in both England friendlies in the March international break, but will be stuck on 22 caps for his country until after the summer.

The fact that he could be a Championship player beyond then may put his future England prospects in doubt.

AM: Cole Palmer

It feels like it hasn’t been a vintage season for Palmer – or Chelsea, for that matter – but he’s still managed to score 10 goals across all competitions.

The attacking midfielder featured in England’s pair of March friendlies like Bowen, before getting cut adrift.

He hadn’t yet made his senior international debut at the time of the last World Cup, so he will be at least 28 by the time he gets to go to his first.

LW: Phil Foden

Once seen as a saviour-like figure and the next big thing in English football, Foden has fulfilled his potential to some degree, but not fully.

He’s had a decent season with Manchester City, registering 10 goals and seven assists. But it hasn’t been his best and means he’ll have to wait for his second World Cup call.

CF: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

The joint-leading English scorer in the Premier League this season, Calvert-Lewin has proven some doubters wrong in his debut year with Leeds.

But the ex-Everton striker hasn’t quite won over Tuchel enough to make it to the World Cup. Harry Kane will be the obvious starter anyway, but his backups will be Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney instead.

It was close but no cigar for Calvert-Lewin, who was brought back in for his first cap in almost five years in March but, now 29, may have missed his last chance of going to a World Cup.