The day of destiny for England’s World Cup 2026 hopefuls is imminent as Thomas Tuchel prepares to unveil his 26-man squad for the tournament.
England are hoping to transform from tournament challengers into World Cup winners and end 60 years of hurt in North America this summer, and Tuchel has a number of huge decisions to make. While much of the squad picks itself on account of club form and past work internationally, a crowded fight for attacking places could see Phil Foden’s place under real threat, while a call will also need to be made on who backs up captain Harry Kane – if specialist No 9 cover is required at all…
Defensively, Trent Alexander-Arnold feels a long shot with Tuchel signalling his preference for other right-back, while Harry Maguire has confirmed that he has missed out on a third tournament.
Follow all of the latest as the squad is unveiled at Wembley with our live blog below:
Ivan Toney makes the squad
In another surprise, Ivan Toney has made the squad and will be a back up to Harry Kane.
Toney, who plays for Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli, was not expected to make the squad having only been called up for England’s international last summer.
When will England prepare for the World Cup?
Once Thomas Tuchel names his squad tomorrow morning, the World Cup preparations will begin.
England warm-up for the tournament with friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica.
They then start their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 17 June, before further group games against Ghana and Panama.
What other rumours are there?
Other than Harry Maguire, the players we think have been left out of the squad are only rumoured.
Maguire himself confirmed his omission but we may have to wait until tomorrow morning to be sure of the rest of the squad.
That said, Cole Palmer and Adam Wharton – two heavily influential midfielders – are also being tipped to have been left out.
TalkSport report that Wharton has been told of his omission while The Athletic say Palmer is out.
Phil Foden another huge omission
This rumour comes from TalkSport again, backed up by BBC reporting, which says that Manchester City’s Phil Foden will not make the squad.
Foden was selected in Tuchel’s March squads. He has played 49 times for England but started only 22 Premier League games for City this season
He has scored seven goals and made five assists in 32 top-flight appearances.
With competition high for Foden’s preferred No. 10 positions it seems the Man City midfielder has not done enough to impress Tuchel.
Other rumoured omissions
News is coming through that Luke Shaw and Fikayo Tomori have also been left out of the squad with the BBC reporting that there is now place for either defender.
Shaw was named in Tuchel’s 55-man provisional squad given Man Utd’s season ending form but he has reportedly not made the cut.
Newcastle’s Dan Burn and Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly are in line to be called up instead.
When will the England squad be named?
We’re expecting the England squad to be named about 10am BST tomorrow morning, with the FA-produced livestream due to begin at 9.45am BST.
Miguel Delaney and Lawrence Ostlere will be at Wembley a little after that to listen to Thomas Tuchel speak.
In the meantime we’ll go through the rumoured bold calls perhaps on the way…
Maguire’s statement on World Ciup omission
Over on X, Maguire wrote: “I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had.
“I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years.
“I wish the players, all the best this summer.”
England’s World Cup 2026 squad: Who’s on the plane, who’s almost there and which big names will miss out?
Late on Thursday, Maguire revealed that he has not been named in Tuchel’s final 26. The Manchester United defender, back in the squad in March after a strong run of form, said he is “shocked and gutted” by the decision. And TalkSport revealed Foden will also be left behind after a difficult season at Manchester City.
Harry Maguire omitted from England squad
TalkSport first reported the news that Manchester United’s Harry Maguire will miss out on a place at the World Cup.
Maguire has undergone something of a resurgence under Michael Carrick towards the end of the season and believed he had made a case to push for the squad.
That is not so with the player also taking to social media to confirm his omission.
Good evening!
We’re just a day away from Thomas Tuchel announcing the 26-players that have made England’s World Cup squad but some news has dropped early.
We’ll have the latest updates and rumours ahead of tomorrow’s announcement and give our thoughts on who we think will make it onto the plane to the USA.
