England announced on Friday, May 22, the list of 26 called up for the 2026 World Cup, surprising by leaving out stars like Phill Foden, from Manchester City, Cole Palmer, from Chelsea, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, from Real Madrid. In addition to them, other players who had a great highlight in the season were also left out of the list, such as Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, both from Manchester United, and Jarrod Bowen, from West Ham. The decision of coach Thomas Tuchel generated great expectation and speculation about the team’s strategies for the tournament.
The list of called up presented by England includes goalkeepers such as Jordan Pickford, from Everton, Dean Henderson, from Crystal Palace, and James Trafford, from Burnley. The defenders called up are Reece James, from Chelsea, Ezri Konsa, from Aston Villa, Jarell Quansah, from Liverpool, John Stones, from Manchester City, Marc Guehi, from Crystal Palace, Dan Burn, from Newcastle, Nico O’Reilly, from Manchester City, Djed Spence, from Tottenham, and Tino Livramento, from Newcastle. In midfielders, they highlight Declan Rice, from Arsenal, Elliot Anderson, from Nottingham Forest, Kobbie Mainoo, from Manchester United, Jordan Henderson, from Ajax, Morgan Rogers, from Aston Villa, Jude Bellingham, from Real Madrid, and Eberechi Eze, from Crystal Palace. The called up forwards include Harry Kane, from Bayern Munich, Ivan Toney, from Al-Ahli, Ollie Watkins, from Aston Villa, Bukayo Saka, from Arsenal, Marcus Rashford, from Manchester United, Anthony Gordon, from Newcastle, and Noni Madueke, from Chelsea. The English team is in Group L of the World Cup and will face Croatia, Ghana, and Panama in the first phase.
The English make their debut in the World Cup against Croatia in Dallas, on May 17. Considering the recent performance of some players and the coach’s choices, the expectation is that the English team will seek a good result from the beginning of the tournament. With a mix of experienced players and young talents, England will try to make a solid campaign and reach the final stages of the competition.
With the heated dispute in the group stage, England will need good results to advance to the next stages. The scenario is one of great expectation for the English team and its fans, who eagerly await the start of the World Cup. The team’s performance will be closely watched by fans from all over the world, who seek to understand how the coach’s decisions will influence the team’s performance in the tournament.