England Senior National Team General Discussion Thread

John stones would walk into the Chelsea defence. Him and colwill would be a good partnership

 

Kobbie Mainoo’s back injury not expected to impact his Man United pre-season. Three weeks off, due back for Dublin trip.

So too, at this stage, is Marcus Rashford. Teammates under impression he is returning. At which point market can be assessed ⬇️ #MUFChttps://t.co/MFZQcmIiQS

— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) July 21, 2026

Absolute class. https://t.co/WNIad1upzD

— The England Pod (@England_Pod) July 21, 2026

 

So we get a double international break, with four matches instead of the normal two. I guess this means the cliubs will double their efforts to prevent players being called up.

 

Think Stones should move a slightly less physical league, I'd hope some top European clubs would be after him (they should be) so to prolong his England career.

 

It will be a test of how much influence Tuchel still has. If we get a lot of suspicious withdrawals then people will think the players want a new start.

 

Players pulling out of a double international break would be sending a message about their own commitment as much as what they think of the manager. Especially taking on Spain at Wembley. Maybe some could pull out part way through.

 

If it were to happen, they would be the best ball playing CB pair in the Premier league.

 

Stones and Colwill is not going to be Chelsea starting pair if they also going for Maxence Lacroix.

 

🚨 Morgan Rogers has signed contract to join Chelsea from Aston Villa for £117m. 23yo attacker puts pen to paper on 6+1yr deal & links up with #CFC squad after pre-season tour to Australia / Asia. Highest value deal of transfer window so far @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/zkEOsXmTTK

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 21, 2026

 

Happy to be proven wrong but even with inflated transfer fees I cannot possibly see how Rogers can ever remotely live up to that kind of valuation. I really hope he does and kicks on, but I simply cannot understand it. On a purely technical basis he doesn't even seem on the level of his England peers when he plays.

It's not even particularly clear what position he would even fit in at Chelsea, I know its mooted off the left, but at Villa he's basically just a second striker who likes to drift in.

 

That figure will not be a big deal in a few years.

 

Marcus Rashford to Chelsea would have made more sense if rogers is playing on the left

 

🚨Bournemouth have rejected Chelsea's £64m offer for Alex Scott this week. Cherries told Blues what they told big six rivals, the 22-year-old is not for sale at any price and now hope that their stance will be respected. https://t.co/BiDeNG7JhK

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) July 21, 2026

 

Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are all plotting a move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, 28, but the Old Trafford hierarchy do not want to sell him to another English club. (The I - subscription required), external

Arsenal are interested in Aston Villa's 28-year-old England defender Ezri Konsa. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Manchester United remain keen to sign a central midfielder but have cooled their interest in Brighton’s Cameroon international Carlos Baleba and Bournemouth’s Guernseyman Alex Scott, both 22, because of their high price tags. (Teamtalk), external

Bournemouth are determined to keep hold of Scott, who is interesting Arsenal, even though the England Under-21 international has rejected a new contract with the Cherries. (Telegraph - subscription required)

 

Gonna be interesting to see how much rest Rice and Saka get this summer.

The standard has been three weeks for a few years now but most experts say that's wholly insufficient even for healthy players.

In the condition Rice and Saka are both in you'd think they'll need more than the average player anyway.

Given it's Arteta my bet is they get three weeks and that's it.

 

For Arteta their Break’s will come during the international breaks.
I bet at least one of them is involved in the Community shield.

The Mandatory break is becoming 4 weeks soon I think. As part of the FIfA/FIFA Pro deal don’t recently.

 

Phil Foden has extended his Man City contract to 2030 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cg4dz410ld6o

Incredible to think his international career might well already be over at 26 as I am not sure Tuchel will recall him anytime soon.

 

Football favourability ratings, following the 2026 World Cup

Jude Bellingham: 67% favourable
Harry Kane: 63%
Marcus Rashford: 60%
Erling Haaland: 55%
Declan Rice: 55%
Bukayo Saka: 54%
Thomas Tuchel: 36%
Cristiano Ronaldo: 34%
Lionel Messi: 29%https://t.co/nUpxJIGT41 pic.twitter.com/Iu7Ziw5JFE

— YouGov (@YouGov) July 22, 2026

Bellingham now more popular than Kane.

 

He’s our best player and was the biggest performer at this wc and the last euros at times

 

Strange that Rashford is more popular than Rice and Saka. Except amongst those very interested in football. Tuchel approval levels look thin. A lot of somewhat favourable ratings.

I would give a very favourable rating to all the England players listed except Rashford who gets somewhat favourable.

 

Rashford is still well know for his campaigning.

 

A player like Foden could hit his peak in his late 20s/early 30s.

You sometimes see these flawed mercurial types peaking around that age as they start to understand/accept the limits of their own game and better understand who they are as a player. The game starts to slow down for a lot of players as they age which I think would help Foden a lot.

This is all very hypothetical but Foden fits the typical mould of a player who might go on to do this. I don't think he'll burn out that quickly and will have very managed minutes in the coming years too.

 

Jude Bellingham has been named in the @FIFAWorldCup #DreamXI ✨

Well deserved, @BellinghamJude 👏

— England (@England) July 22, 2026

Never in doubt.

 

With William Saliba out for an extended period, Arsenal are looking to strengthen in the centre-back department.

England duo John Stones and Ezri Konsa are among the players that the Premier League champions are targeting.

🔗 https://t.co/EJK9Phx2ZK https://t.co/THE8DqJxZB pic.twitter.com/Vb4yw8uN2a

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) July 22, 2026

 

This is how England can win Euro 2028 - Scott Parker
Thomas Tuchel’s side will learn from World Cup campaign and have fearless talents Rio Ngumoha and Max Dowman waiting in the wings

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World domination proved beyond England this summer but that does not mean they cannot conquer Europe in 2028. I watched every second of England’s World Cup journey over the past month and, really, I should be reflecting on how we did in the final, rather than analysing our third-place finish.

I can understand why the players returned home with regrets but one day it will fall into place for them. The road to the European Championship begins against Spain, the standard-setters, at Wembley on September 26.

Here are my keys for taking the last step.

The energy of youth
There will be a different look to the squad in two years and I am excited about the talent coming through. Rio Ngumoha, the young Liverpool winger, and Arsenal’s Max Dowman are the standouts among the next crop. What potential they possess.

I really like Ngumoha, who is fast and fearless, and I still cannot get my head around what Dowman was doing for Arsenal during the run-in, playing in games that were going to decide the title and then going into school.

Ngumoha was involved in England’s World Cup training camp but, in 2028, I would expect both of them to be pushing for the squad. I argued in my column last weekend that it is nonsense to say we are not producing enough technical players: these boys are proof that we are.

Who helps Harry?
Harry Kane will be 34 at the start of Euro 2028 and I expect that he will have become the first player to have scored a century of England goals by then. His record of 85 goals in 121 appearances is astonishing and it may never be beaten.

I do not foresee his level dropping between now and then, but I do wonder who is going to provide back-up. We are not producing No 9s as we used to and it is not easy to come up with a name of someone to take over.

Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke will all be in their early thirties at the next tournament. Can Liam Delap step up and make progress after his debut season at Chelsea? It is an area Thomas Tuchel will be scrutinising.

Jude will lead the way
The first column I wrote for Telegraph Sport was centred on Jude Bellingham. I could not believe some were questioning whether he should go to the World Cup, but I also knew he would make those suggestions look ridiculous.

He is a world-class player and this tournament has elevated him to the highest level. He is a machine, at times single-handedly pulling the team through – as evidenced against Mexico and Norway. He has the whole package: attitude, courage, work ethic, quality, and the key thing: big moments.

A home tournament is made for him to cement his reputation.

Learning lessons
The biggest aspect for Tuchel when he analyses this summer will be understanding why at times the team did not show what he sees on the training field in key moments of games: Argentina will be the prime example. The World Cup final proved we should have beaten them and had their place.

It was not about tactics or certain instructions initially. The team acted the same way until the first substitutions but then England took a step back and, against a team that had nothing to lose, there were consequences. Changing that mindset will be crucial. Spain is a brilliant first game back.

Spirit means so much
Failure hurts, but it comes with long-term benefits. We all wish the road on any journey was smooth but sport often teaches of the need to handle bumps and adversity. You need them if you are going to achieve something significant.

The majority of this squad will be in their prime for Euro 2028 and fired up by the determination, after knocking on the door at five tournaments, to finally burst through it. The spirit is there: Gareth Southgate set this in motion and Tuchel has maintained it. We just need that trophy.