FIFA World Cup 2026: England Tournament Thread [R]

Jude Bellingham said every player in the England squad must “feel loved” at this year’s World Cup and admitted things were “a little bit wrong off the pitch” at the European Championship in 2024.

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Don’t really get this, I mean under Southgate I thought everything behind the scenes was to make all the players feel the harmony ( love ) and I think Southgate was the sort of manager that really embraces the squad harmony and togetherness. With Tuchel, I get the impression he’s more hardlined with this sort of approach and will let you know if he’s dissatisfied with anything off or on the pitch so not sure Jude is going to feel the love anymore than he did with Southgate. I mean, I could be wrong as obviously have no idea what it’s like behind the scenes but that’s the impression I have.

 

My instinct is that he's alluding to some of this being the players' fault tbf. They said at the time they were letting the outside criticism really affect them and it was souring the mood in camp. You'd assume they'll take steps to insulate themselves a bit more from outside discourse this time.

This is pure speculation on my part but I also think Southgate's head was utterly fried by this point so I wouldn't be surprised if he struggled to structure the camp as meticulously as he had in the past. He was making so many weird decisions with the squad and was clearly very heavily affected by the pressure so it'd be no shock if that affected the other aspects of his management too.

 

I always remember Southgate after Germany in euro 2021 saying 'if we lose I'm dead' because of his selection and playing 5 at the back.

Euro 2024 he really shot himself in the foot as if we had a proper LB and played a winger on the left we'd have looked so much more cohesive.

We got through that tournament purely on the ability and talent of our players, but we could've been so much better. Kane, Bellingham, Foden, Palmer were in great form going into it

 

Maybe he is alleuding to some players that were not there but are now (Henderson prehaps) or even some players that were they but are not now (Rumours of issues between him and Foden have been published before and there were reports of an unammed player, who was clearly Trippier, being mocked for his private life,

 

Bukayo Saka fitness update as England boss Thomas Tuchel faces three selection decisions | @johncrossmirrorhttps://t.co/A4JZ8tPxxQ pic.twitter.com/jeXEL3bFec

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) June 12, 2026

Apparently the players think Bellingham will start and Stones will start alongside Konsa.

 

I always got the impression that Southgate was pretty set on leaving going into the 2022 world cup, after taking so much flack going into it, only to change his mind after the team got the a positive reception for the tournament. I think he thought that he'd cracked the blueprint for the side with that tournament and thought he could go one more with that side in 18 short months.

But then what actually happened in that 18 months is a bunch of the side declined much more than he expected and some players like Kane simply weren't fit so he needed a much more radical overhaul then we got to the Euro's with a squad full of new players that he neither knew nor trusted, thus we ended up with the same team over and over again (who were all outside Mainoo not coincidentally very experienced under him) playing awful but no change in the players. I can't imagine it contributes to a good mood in the camp when there's such an obvious divide between the starting team and the rest regardless of how bad the performances are.

Could be completely off base but its one of the only ways of rationalising some of the decision making that tournament.

 

Yorath and Rooney and Richards are doing their best but I sure miss the days of Shearer Ferdinand and Lineker

 

BBC report from the camp suggesting they're "hearing" it may be Stones-Konsa too

 

Would be a huge shock if Guehi didn't start. He's been our best defender over the last couple of years

 

While its hard to judge them too much based on the opposition they've faced i've always thought Konsa - Guehi looked a pretty good and complementary pairing, who actually allow us to push the defence higher when needed and reduce gaps between the lines which is always an age old problem with England sides. They do lack height for a centre back pairing but that is at least somewhat mitigated by the rest of the team anyway.

Stones might be England's best centre back on the ball but he looks to have Maguire tier mobility nowadays and its a real limitation having someone like that in your backline and really prevents us being a more proactive side (or we still do it and its much more of a liability).

 

Yorath is going to be a tough watch. She's got the personality of a lemon meringue

 

I would go Guehi and Konsa myself, I know Stones has all the experience but he worries me from a defensive point of view. He’s really not the best when it comes to a one and one situation but then again against a Croatia team that I don’t think has much pace in attack might not be an issue.

 

World Cup 2026: Bellingham, but no Guehi - England's expected team - BBC Sport
sources indicating that the team that started in the 3-0 win over Costa Rica will be close to the team that Tuchel picks against Croatia on Wednesday – then Rogers will likely have to settle for a place on the bench.

Indeed, if that is the case, it appears that John Stones and Ezri Konsa will start the World Cup as England's first-choice central defensive pairing.

That would come as a shock to many given the widely held view that Marc Guehi was the team's first-choice centre-back.

 

Another out of the box decision from tuchel. I'm sure Guehi will start plenty of games

 

Only if Stones or Konsa gets injured.

Or we lose matches.

 

Apologies if this has been posted before but it's worth hearing

Peter Beardsley doing the Barnes bit from World In Motion

 

Article is a load of crap. The only information is that the team from Orlando is expected to have 1 or 2 changes. Even that is vague. From that they have stated that some of the players that might be changed might be ones that aren't swapped.

 

This was my take too. The way Jude (and Morgan Rogers) eulogised about Henderson in the same interview was a big pointer towards his thoughts on what was missing at Euro 24. There did seem to be a lack of leadership within the camp - and the fact that Tuchel has been so vocal about having experienced pros and strong characters in all his squads since pretty much backs this up.

 

if that’s real no wonder they switched to Barnes

ironic really after beardsleys behaviour

 

I still find the post-2022 reaction so interesting. It's the first time in my lifetime where pre-tournament expectations were high but the post-tournament reaction was mostly sane and rational despite getting knocked out in the QF. That in itself is decent evidence that the idea we think we're owed the World Cup is nonsense.

I wouldn't be shocked if that gave Southgate second thoughts though.

I definitely think lack of fitness of certain players played a part in clouding his decision making but I think he succumbed to fan and media pressure a bit.

I'd bet he wanted to pick Henderson but he was under so much pressure not to at the time. Given the sort of midfielders he was known to like I can't imagine he was that enthusiastic about Wharton.

The Trent and Foden situations obviously too. Those decisions just felt like the culmination of 5-6 years of being hammered by fans and media.

 

Not great for Lewis Dunk who was presumably there for that purpose.

 

I had half a feeling Stones and Konsa would start together.

I think the thing with Stones not starting is that without him, Reece James is the only passer in the backline. Konsa and Guehi are decent passers but neither are top level and it can cause buildup issues if 75% of your backline are sub elite passers. Amongst other things that's been part of Liverpool's issues this season.

It's Tuchel's fault for structuring the squad in that way but I think a big part of why we regularly look average when we make a lot of changes is because Tuchel doesn't pick enough passers, both in defence and in midfield. We only have a handful and they're all starters.

It's a real shame Levi Colwill didn't return earlier because he's the perfect compromise between being a top class defender in his physical prime with high quality passing skills. He'll be a big boost to the team in the next few years if he keeps fit.

 

Bellingham puts himself if pole position for England’s opening game, with Saka battling to prove his fitness to start. England arrive in Kansas to start their real preparations tomorrow.https://t.co/C3mOhjjEKD

— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) June 12, 2026

Reece James has told Friends he thinks he can start all 8 matches and feels fine.