Key events
Spence gets the England call
Jacob Steinberg
The final man in the 26 is Djed Spence, the Tottenham full back. He can play on both flanks so offers versatility. There is no Trent Alexander-Arnold in the England squad.
Ivan Toney’s selection for England, should it come to pass, is the wild card. The sense is that, as a player in Saudi Arabia, he’s used to great heat. Plus, he’s a whizz at penalties.
Sholto Maud gets in touch to express what seems a popular sentiment: “Flabbergasted is a word that comes to mind, John.”
Another farewell: Andy Robertson and Liverpool, expected to arrive at Tottenham, relegation dependent.
“We were on the most amazing journey ever, all together,” he reflects. “When we started out Mo Salah didn’t sign as the best player in the world or the best winger in the world. Virgil van Dijk had the potential to be but wasn’t the best centre-back in the world. Alisson wasn’t the best goalkeeper in the world. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] wasn’t the best right-back in the world. Hendo [Jordan Henderson] was still trying to find his feet as captain. We were all just on this journey from the bottom to the very top together and climbing that mountain was the best feeling ever.”
One last spin for 10 things to look out for:
Farewell Pep, thanks for coming. What a decade it has been at Manchester City, where their head coach has changed the course of English football for ever. Kids are desperate to play out from the back and technique, for a long period, was favoured over physique. Like when Jürgen Klopp left Liverpool, it will be a sad day for the Premier League, not that opposition fans will admit it. Nor will they be too bothered that Bernardo Silva is on his merry way too, having distinguished himself as one of the smartest operators to have graced the league, while being incredibly consistent over nine years. The Portuguese bows out with John Stones, who at his best is one of the finest defenders in world football, but has been held back by injuries during his career. City fans will miss all three but it feels like everyone should take a moment to acknowledge their achievements. Will Unwin
Probable 26-man England squad
David Hytner and Jacob Steinberg have done their analysis and made their predictions on the final 26.
Here’s their probable squad:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford Everton, Dean Henderson Crystal Palace, James Trafford Manchester City
Defenders: Reece James Chelsea, Tino Livramento Newcastle, John Stones Manchester City, Marc Guéhi Manchester City, Ezri Konsa Aston Villa, Dan Burn Newcastle, Jarell Quansah Bayer Leverkusen, Nico O’Reilly Manchester City, Djed Spence, Tottenham
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson Brentford, Elliot Anderson Nottingham Forest, Declan Rice Arsenal, Kobbie Mainoo Manchester United,
James GarnerEverton, Jude Bellingham Real Madrid, Morgan Rogers Aston VillaForwards: Bukayo Saka Arsenal, Noni Madueke Arsenal, Eberechi Eze Arsenal, Marcus Rashford Barcelona, Anthony Gordon Newcastle, Harry Kane Bayern Munich, Ollie Watkins Aston Villa, Ivan Toney Al-Ahli
The latest England squad news, via David Ornstein and a number of other reporters, is that Trent Alexander-Arnold has been omitted, and Djed Spence is in; Spence is also reported to have broken his jaw after a collision with Liam Delap of Chelsea on Tuesday.
Here’s what we know so far on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad:
Maguire was the first to go public about being left out, with the defender taking to social media to express disappointment over failing to make the cut, but the most eye- catching omissions came in the attacking areas. Foden and Palmer have had underwhelming seasons for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively and their struggles meant they fell behind the other No 10s at Tuchel’s disposal. Morgan Gibbs-White, who has enjoyed a strong end to the season with Nottingham Forest, is also likely to miss out.
Tuchel has been bold with his selections and nothing is more striking than his decision to turn to Toney for the first time in 12 months. The former Brentford striker, who now plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, was part of England’s squad at Euro 2024 but has not made an international appearance since coming on as a substitute in the friendly defeat by Senegal last June.
It had been unclear whether Tuchel would decide to pick a conventional striker to provide cover for Harry Kane. In the event he is expected to have three strikers on the plane when England head to Florida for their pre-tournament training game on Monday week, with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins expected to compete with Toney for minutes behind Kane. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Solanke and Danny Welbeck have not done enough.
Preamble
Good morning, football. World Cup fever is here, and it’s been a feverish night of news on who *isn’t* in the England squad. And further news has been broken overnight, of which more later. The big announcement comes at 9.45am UK time.
Not only that, there’s a the Premier League’s final day, and the Championship playoff final – Hull v Middlesbrough, to confirm – is on Saturday, too.
A huge day of news. Join me.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/may/22/england-world-cup-2026-squad-revealed-thomas-tuchel-football-news-live
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