England head to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as genuine contenders, and considering their efforts at recent tournaments, it’s hard to argue to the contrary.
Gareth Southgate led the Three Lions to back-to-back European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024, painfully losing both.
Firstly, it was Italy and the heroics of Gianluigi Donnarumma at Wembley, before Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winner in Berlin ensured that 58 years of hurt became 60 and counting.
With expectations rising at every tournament, Southgate sensed that continued near misses had turned the English fanbase toxic.
He opted to walk away from the hot seat despite the FA offering him a new contract to continue as manager through the 2026 World Cup and beyond.
Now, German Thomas Tuchel is the man tasked with finally bringing the World Cup home at long last, and the former Chelsea boss shone throughout qualifying, leading his side to a perfect eight wins from eight without conceding a single goal.
England’s Disappointing Recent Form
However, a pair of drab displays in recent friendlies has online betting sites concerned. Throughout most of the build-up to this summer, the Lucky Rebel World Cup odds listed the Three Lions as the 11/2 second-favorites.
However, a 1-1 draw at home to Uruguay and a disastrous 1-0 defeat at home to Japan have seen them push England out to 15/2, with France leapfrogging them in the betting charts.
With the World Cup fast approaching, Tuchel now has some huge decisions on his hands.
He won’t get to see his players play again in an England shirt before naming his squad in May, instead having to rely on what he watches at club level as well as what the players have delivered in previous camps.
He may well have already decided the vast majority of the players who will head to North America this summer, but here are two others who should also be in contention, if they aren’t already.
Ivan Toney
Harry Kane is without question England’s talisman. The skipper has been in scintillating form for Bayern Munich this term, with his recent goal in the Champions League quarterfinals against Real Madrid taking him to 50 and counting for the season.
However, behind him, Tuchel has a problem on his hands. None of the backup strikers England have relied upon in recent years are in any kind of respectable form, with names such as Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all struggling for goals.
One man who isn’t struggling for goals is Ivan Toney. The former Brentford man was a crucial cog of the England squad that reached the final of Euro 2024, scoring a nerveless penalty in the shootout victory against Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
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Toney left Brentford and the Premier League in the immediate aftermath of Euro 2024, opting to take his talents to the less competitive Saudi Pro League with Al Ahli.
The 30-year-old is the only English striker not named Kane that’s regularly been in the goals this year, netting a mighty 36 goals in 42 games in all competitions, while his 27 strikes in the league specifically are the most of anybody in Saudi Arabia – ahead of names such as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Unfortunately for the former Peterborough United striker, however, manager Tuchel is focused more on the lesser quality opposition he has faced, rather than the goals he’s scored.
The German boss has named Toney in just one England squad since taking over as manager, and even then, the striker was afforded just two minutes of game time.
But considering the sheer lack of form of any of his contemporaries, Tuchel surely has to take a punt on Toney this summer.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Two years ago, Gareth Southgate moved heaven and earth in a bid to get Trent Alexander-Arnold into his starting eleven, even deploying him in an unusual central midfield role.
Unfortunately, that experiment didn’t pay off; the former Liverpool man was soon dropped to the bench, but the attempted move shows just how highly rated Trent was by the previous regime. The same can’t be said for the new one.
Alexander-Arnold swapped Anfield for the Bernabeu last summer, but to say his debut season in the Spanish capital has been a disappointment would be a massive understatement.
The right back has struggled with form and fitness issues all year long, resulting in him losing his place in the Real Madrid squad to the veteran Dani Carvajal.
However, in recent weeks, the 27-year-old has started to show exactly why Los Blancos mounted an all-out assault in a bid to secure his signature 12 months ago.
The two-time Premier League winner has started 11 of Real’s last 14 games and looked back to his brilliant best in the recent Champions League clashes with Bayern Munich, albeit in defeat.
He provided an assist to Kylian Mbappe in the first leg at the Bernabeu, and he provided a picture-perfect cross for the Frenchman in the dying embers of the second leg as well, only this time Manuel Neuer made the save and Bayern Munich progressed to the semifinals.
Reece James is all but guaranteed to start for England at right back next summer. However, Alexander-Arnold is the next best option, well clear of the likes of Ben White and Tino Livramento in terms of quality.
Now the question is whether Tuchel believes he is back to his best. If he does, he may well pull the trigger.
