FIFA World Cup 2026: England Tournament Thread [R]

I can’t recall it or are you referring the flick on for Jude’s goal? I have never particularly thought he’s a particularly dominating defender in the air. Feels like I’ve seen him out jumped on numerous occasions. I could be wrong but just remember previously thinking this.

 

I'm also ok with Madueke starting. We should have too much for Croatia but we'll see. A win would be very useful as it may allow us to potentially rest up in the final games, given the lack of options in midfield that could be vital

 

Gordon and Madueke on the wings plays to Kane's strengths and unlocks most defenses. Madueke's end product isn't great but he stretches defenses and makes things happen.

 

Whenever English football journos are pulled up on this they act like they're performing a civic duty and have no choice but to reveal the information when they get it.

I don't know if they have a really over-inflated view of their own role or if they're just clutching at straws to justify their own self serving actions.

Their job is to write and report on things that a) people are interested in hearing/reading about and b) that relate to or impact the integrity of the sport. This crap does neither. No fans want the lineup leaked, they're just doing it for themselves and their"scoop".

 

if Japan can score from a ball in the box against the Dutch, we're ok!

 

Articles like this could look foolish if Henderson comes on and the team level declines like it has done more than once under Tuchel.
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...llingham-thomas-tuchel-england-world-cup-2026

Thomas Tuchel’s approach is completely different to his predecessor Gareth Southgate’s and may prove to be the deciding factor in the German’s quest to put “a second star” on the England shirt.@JBurtTelegraph analyses why ⤵️ https://t.co/2NigsTAx9w pic.twitter.com/BlkXgcKpmX

— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) June 15, 2026

 

The Guardian have done a little article on Henderson's cheerleader role and how he was missed at Euro 2024: https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...llingham-thomas-tuchel-england-world-cup-2026

 

"Henderson’s Euro 2024 snub was England’s fatal flaw"

 

I don't really mind a 26th player in the squad being there basically because they're a good body to have around the place, you simply don't need 26 players.

The problem with Henderson is we have picked the midfield in a manner where he's very likely to get minutes, and is not far away from probably having to play a crucial role if one of our starters gets injured.

It also seems reductive to put the poor performances at euros on off the pitch matters ignoring clear issues with how unbalanced the set up was, and obvious issues with some of the starters. Not to say off the pitch isn't important but Henderson wasn't going to be the difference in England having zero left attack all tournament.

While we did play very poor for much of the euros it did also show the value having a wider squad who could come off the bench and contribute. We scored 5 of our 6 knock out goals after substitutes. So there is also clearly a need for balance between having personality picks and people who can come off the bench and make a difference.

 

I would have sacrificed dan burn to bring in an extra midfielder. Scott or Wharton

 

The Athletic writers have picked their starting line ups and none of them have dropped Guehi.
Oliver Kay- Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Kane, Rogers
Jack Pitt-Brooke - Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Saka, Bellingham, Rashford, Kane
Dan Sheldon - Pickford, James, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Saka, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane
Jay Harris - Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Gordon and Kane
Cerys Jones - Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reily, Rice, Anderson, Saka, Bellingham, Gordon and Kane
Tim Spiers - Pickford, James, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rice, Bellingham, Anderson, Saka, Kane, Gordon

 

Anderson is very arguably England's second most important player after Kane so to go to the World Cup without anyone who offers at least a little bit of what he does is a major risk.

Same with not having another left-footed left-back on top of O'Reilly. We're skating on thin ice with the availability of certain players.

If we swapped Quansah for Curtis Jones (or even Lewis-Skelly) and Livramento for Lewis Hall I'd have very few major qualms with this squad.

 

Anderson could be one of the breakout stars of this World Cup.I don't think the general public know that much about him.

 

Yeah I definitely don't think non-PL fans realise quite how good he is.

Apparently on social media fans from other countries were fawning over Wharton after the Conference League final having been exposed to him for the first time.

If Anderson plays to his full potential this summer you'll no doubt have the same thing.

 

Yes. I think City should just pay the money. Because I think his stock only going to rise after the world cup.

 

Not finding room in a 26 man squad for Lewis Skelley is now looking more and more baffling to me.

He already had that understanding playing next to Rice. He's an excellent ball carrier, adds young energy to the Midfield (off the bench) and hes left footed, which injects balance to a team with a shortage of naturally left-footed players.

Even if the manager still insisted on taking Henderson for 'off the pitch reasons.
Maguire & Lewis-Skelley instead of Burn & Quansah would have solved so many more problems, without leaving us shorter elsewhere.

 

Yeah I really can't think of a single redeeming quality/reason why Quansah has made the final squad. Don't mind O'Reilly I just think when he's forced to defend it becomes blatantly obvious he's a midfielder forced to play left back and not convinced by his delivery either (compare his to Hall's delivery specifically...). Had some nice little interplays with Gordon against Costa Rica though. Wouldn't be complaining that much about the leftback options if there was Hall for Quansah (since Spence and Livramento can cover both positions). Henderson's the cheerleader. Burn for emergency kick and rush and Arsenal-esque set-piece stuff though he hasn't been dangerous from headers for Newcastle and would prefer Maguire for these situations plus pens BUT seems like Tuchel was right about his character and his camp's embarrasingly cringe handling of the situation so I guess I have to applaud Tuchel for this decision?

And then there's Quansah... He's an abysmal rightback, especially further up the pitch, and has never played there for Leverkusen. The again, he's also only a mediocre central defender who's really not that good on the ball and invites pressure with his bad passing. Oh and he's also used to playing three at the back for Leverkusen contrary to Tuchel's system. Also not a fan of Ben White if he wasn't injured but he's at least somewhat used to combining with Saka and whipping in crosses. So if Tuchel wanted to call up White originally why not go for another specialist attacker/midfielder after his injury over yet another supposed utility option? Perhaps Carsley has spoken highly of him to Tuchel? Can't think of any other explanation lol.

 

I believe it's 50-50 that Quansah may develop into a competent CB after another two seasons (at least) of playing in a high pressure environment.

But he's absolutely not ready yet to be playing CB for England and like you said he plays in a back three for Leverkusen and is often used to carry the ball up the pitch and be the 'spare man' during Leverkusen's attacking phases.

It is possible that Tuchel is planning on switching to a back three at some stage, if certain opponents get drawn in the knockouts and wants a role replacement in case John Stones is unavailable. But personally I would still play Reece James in a back three instead of Quansah.

 

England take leaf out of Arsenal playbook with focus on set-pieces in training ahead of Croatia. Declan Rice, Reece James and Bukayo Saka among designated dead ball specialists, though doubt remains over Saka’s fitness due to Achilles tendonitis issue. https://t.co/DFOCtoy9N9

— Sami Mokbel (@SamiMokbel_BBC) June 15, 2026

 

Tuchel suggested Ben White wasn’t in his plans as he said he had lost no players to injury when picking his 26.

 

I'd sooner take trent as rightback than Quansah and if we need a ball playing centreback who can do a job at left back there's no one better than colwill