England manager Thomas Tuchel is fortunate to have 26 high-quality players to choose from at the World Cup.
The Three Lions have one of the most talented squads in the tournament, despite leaving several top players at home.
The likes of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Harry Maguire all missed the cut.
Tuchel’s next tough decision will be to pick the starting XI for England’s World Cup opener against Croatia.
Here is England’s strongest possible lineup with controversial calls at the centre-back, attacking midfield, and left-wing positions.
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How England should line up at World Cup 2026
Dean Henderson and James Trafford are both good enough to start, but the England goalkeeper shirt belongs to Jordan Pickford.
Pickford has been great for Everton and England for many years and will not let his country down this summer.
Reece James and Nico O’Reilly are England’s two best full-backs by a wide margin, with Djed Spence the only real competition.
Replacing backup full-back Tino Livramento with Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah was certainly an interesting choice by Tuchel.
The first big debate is at centre-back, with two of Marc Guehi, John Stones, and Ezri Konsa set to start.
Guehi is probably the best of the trio, while Stones’ vast experience would complement him nicely at his first World Cup.
Elliot Anderson has been England’s breakout star in the last 12 months and thoroughly deserves to start.
Anderson’s ball progression and Declan Rice’s physicality should make them one of the best midfield duos at the tournament.
Childhood friends Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham are vying for the number 10 position in Tuchel’s team.
Rogers has probably had the better season, but Bellingham is probably the better player and is more likely to be a match-winner.
The Real Madrid star will be tasked with crashing the box when Harry Kane inevitably drops deeper.
New Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon has earned a starting place over former Barca loanee Marcus Rashford.
It was a close contest between the left-wing pair until Gordon’s Man of the Match performance against Costa Rica last week.
Bukayo Saka should be one of the first names on the team sheet if he is even close to full match sharpness.
The 24-year-old delivers significantly more end product than his Arsenal and England teammate Noni Madueke.
- England’s best XI: Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Gordon
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