Where are they now? England’s XI from the 2018 World Cup third-place match | OneFootball

England‘s last appearance in the World Cup Bronze Final third-place play-off was a distinctly unmemorable 2-0 loss to Belgium in 2018.

Goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard saw Belgium win a comfortable victory and England settle for fourth place.

As the Three Lions prepare to face France in the 2026 edition, we’ve looked back eight years and investigated what that XI is doing today.

GK: Jordan Pickford

After replacing Joe Hart prior to the 2018 World Cup, Pickford has been England’s No.1 for over eight years.

Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, Sam Johnstone and Dean Henderson all emerged as challengers for Pickford’s spot between the sticks, but nobody has compelled an England manager to replace the Everton man.

There have been signs at the 2026 World Cup that Pickford may be starting to wane, with James Trafford waiting in the wings. One to keep an eye on.

CB: Phil Jones

Jones won the last of his 27 England caps in St Petersburg, culpable for Eden Hazard scoring Belgium’s second with slipshod defending.

Unfairly maligned for much of his career, largely for having an expressive face, Jones remained at Manchester United until 2023 despite a ton of injury problems.

He retired from the game shortly after leaving Old Trafford and is now first-team coach at Sheffield United.

CB: John Stones

One of four participants in this game to also make the 2026 squad, Stones started England’s heartbreaking defeat to Argentina as senior centre-back.

Another defender who has suffered from injury problems, the 32-year-old has recently left Manchester City and is currently without a club. We don’t expect him to be unattached for long.

CB: Harry Maguire

Once the most expensive centre-back in world football, it was Maguire’s England heroics that really made his name.

The centre-back was still at Leicester City when he made his international debut in a 1-0 World Cup qualifier victory in Lithuania in October 2017.

From that point, Maguire was one of the first names on Southgate’s teamsheet and barely put a foot wrong as England made the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 final.

He became a figure of ridicule during the early 2020s after a slump in Manchester United form, but he recovered strongly under Michael Carrick’s management and was unfortunate not to make this year’s World Cup squad.

RWB: Kieran Trippier

A late bloomer, Trippier’s England debut didn’t arrive until he was nearly 27 – a 3-2 friendly defeat to France in June 2017.

Despite tough competition at right-back, Trippier became a stalwart of the Southgate era. He won 54 caps and scored that famous free-kick against Croatia in the semi-finals.

Now aged 35, the defender has recently joined Championship side Wolves following four-and-a-half years with Newcastle.

CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Dele Alli ’84)

Apart from a brief cameo in the Thomas Tuchel era, Loftus-Cheek has been out of the international reckoning for some time.

Happily, the former Chelsea midfielder appears settled at AC Milan and has spent the last three seasons in Italy.

Dele was a Tottenham and England star in 2018, although hindsight suggests his decline had already begun.

The midfielder’s struggles with mental health have been well-documented, and Dele himself has been incredibly open on the subject. His last club was Como, for whom he made one appearance in 2025.

CM: Eric Dier

Dier  chose to represent the Three Lions over Portugal—where he spent the majority of his childhood—at international level.

Since making his debut against Spain at the back end of 2015, alongside Dele, Dier had been an England regular. We’ll all remember that penalty against Colombia in 2018

However, the former Spurs man hasn’t played for his country since 2022 and is now playing in Ligue 1 for Monaco.

CM: Fabian Delph

A fringe member of England’s 2018 squad, Delph won brief cult status after calling his wife ‘a machine’ just days after giving birth.

The midfielder played 22 times in City’s Premier League-winning season of 2017-18 but struggled for first-team opportunities the following campaign and joined Everton in 2019.

His time at Goodison Park was marred by injuries and he announced his retirement in September 2022.

LWB: Danny Rose (Jesse Lingard ’46)

Rose turned down a call up from Jamaica in order to represent the country of his birth, England. The Doncaster-born man made his debut in a 3-2 friendly win over Germany in 2016, and went on to earn 29 caps.

The left-back last played professional football for Watford in 2022 and retired two years later.

Lingard’s international career peaked with a key role in the side that reached the semi-finals of Russia 2018.

His club career has dwindled since leaving Manchester United in 2022. After spells with Nottingham Forest and FC Seoul, the midfielder is now playing for Corinthians.

This made him the first English footballer to feature in Brazil’s Serie A.

ST: Raheem Sterling (Marcus Rashford ’46)

Sterling didn’t score at the 2018 World Cup, but remained a crucial player under Gareth Southgate and was England’s best player at Euro 2020.

His last international appearance came during the 2022 finals and Sterling has recently been released by Feyenoord.

It’s easy to forget that Rashford is still only 28 years old, having made his England debut over 10 years ago.

The forward’s good form at Barcelona earned him a spot in this year’s World Cup squad, scoring against Croatia in the group stage.

But Rashford fell out of favour after the last 32 match with DR Congo and his club situation is uncertain, with Barcelona opting not to sign him and Manchester United not really wanting to keep him either.

ST: Harry Kane

England’s captain and record goalscorer, Kane is still leading the line in 2026.

But there is trepidation over the national team’s Kane-less future, given he’s 33 and visibly wilted during the latter stages of this World Cup.