World Cup 2026

[AlexLaw76]

Squad announced today. 

I see Maguire has not taken to being omitted very well. Pretty arrogant reposes IMO. but there we are.

Foden misses out it seems, which is displease people like Henry Winter.

Big question, will "Trent" be on the plane?

 

[James]

If the BBC reported squad is correct there are a few pretty weird ones. No Palmer, Toney back in from nowhere, Henderson in…

[AlexLaw76]

Trent OUT according to Sky Sports

Henry Winter will be in tears

[ChrisPY]

Djed Spence in.

[skintsaint]

How the hell Gibbs-White missing out I will never know.

[benjii]

Cole Palmer not included is mental.

[trousers]

Another German manager trying to be too 'clever'...? 

[trousers]

Tuchel saying that he's only picked "unselfish" players... 

[trousers]

Just waiting for one of the journos to ask Tuchel if he's spied on any of his World Cup opponents yet....

[Wade Garrett]

Can’t understand Spence and Burn being picked for LB when we have left out Lewis Hall.

[Wade Garrett]

3 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Trent OUT according to Sky Sports

Henry Winter will be in tears

That’s one positive.  Wonder what Gibson will pay him to talk about it.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Squad announced today. 

I see Maguire has not taken to being omitted very well. Pretty arrogant reposes IMO. but there we are.

Foden misses out it seems, which is displease people like Henry Winter.

Big question, will "Trent" be on the plane?

 

I never noticed Foden at Wembley until he was substituted.

[egg]

3 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

Can’t understand Spence and Burn being picked for LB when we have left out Lewis Hall.

Yep. Shaw can feel hard done by too. He's had a great season. 

Gibbs-White missing out is nuts too.

[SNSUN]

Squad rests on Tuchel's head and only he can make the decisions but he'll also be the first to go if we go out in the group stage. I don't think it's a good squad at all but that's just my opinion and, as a result, they will probably go on and win the World Cup.

[skintsaint]

For England to win the WC, you got to get the best out of Kane, who is in unbelievable form.

Study Bayern's formation/setup (not within 72 hours of a game) and go from there.

[Wade Garrett]

32 minutes ago, egg said:

Yep. Shaw can feel hard done by too. He's had a great season. 

Gibbs-White missing out is nuts too.

Gibbs-White is a great player but he’s not ahead of Bellingham or Rogers.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

Got to have Henderson for experience and gelling the lads...

Seriously just take him as a mascot or part of the coaching staff for that. 

[Badger]

1 hour ago, skintsaint said:

For England to win the WC, you got to get the best out of Kane, who is in unbelievable form.

Study Bayern's formation/setup (not within 72 hours of a game) and go from there.

Who over the last few tawneements has proved to be completely knackered after the group stage. 

[Badger]

36 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

Got to have Henderson for experience and gelling the lads...

Seriously just take him as a mascot or part of the coaching staff for that. 

It’d fall apart without Hendo’s influence though. Perhaps Tuchel should take Nivea as one of his back room team as well. 

[Toussaint]

6 hours ago, trousers said:

Tuchel saying that he's only picked "unselfish" players... 

losers then?

[SNSUN]

7 minutes ago, Badger said:

It’d fall apart without Hendo’s influence though. Perhaps Tuchel should take Nivea as one of his back room team as well. 

Nah, he'll be busy over the summer trying to assemble a Saints squad as our new gaffer. 

[Toussaint]

Football is all rigged, FIFA have already made up their minds Pakistan are going to win.

[S-Clarke]

Hall not going is crazy. Palmer is somewhat questionable too, but Chelsea fans have some interesting views about him this season. In terms of Foden, I do remember him really struggling to fit with England in the last tournament, we tried with Foden and Bellingham and it just wouldn't work. We tried for years with Lampard and Gerrard and it didn't work, sometimes you pick the team rather than the names. 

The outcry over Trent is laughable though. The guy can't defend for shit. 

'He's got a great cross' - yeah, but ultimately we need him to defend against the best attackers in the world and he can't do that. So that's that.

[whelk]

Less than two weeks away and CL final hasn’t taken place yet. 

I am sure I will get into when it starts but nothing yet about it excites me. FIFA are getting worse and more exploitative, and enough said about the US. 
 

Very much expecting Tuchel to fail. Massively overrated IMO but hope that comes back to bite me. 
Enjoying Dear England 

[Jack]

Modern FIFA and Trump’s America are a perfect recipe for ruining what should be an amazing event. Rinsing every penny/dollar out of people and making it completely inaccessible to normal football fans even if it means empty stadiums. Too many teams, too many uninteresting fixtures, too expensive, travel and accommodation quadrupled in price, talk of an NFL style half time show for the final, makes you sick. It’s not what football is about. I’d have been far more interested if it was just in Mexico, amazing country apart from its troubles in the north. No coincidence that the closer you get to the USA, the worse it is. 

[Patrick Bateman]

30 minutes ago, whelk said:

Less than two weeks away and CL final hasn’t taken place yet. 

I am sure I will get into when it starts but nothing yet about it excites me. FIFA are getting worse and more exploitative, and enough said about the US. 
 

Very much expecting Tuchel to fail. Massively overrated IMO but hope that comes back to bite me. 
Enjoying Dear England 

Same. Right now, I couldn't give a toss about it and I'm certainly not looking forward to the news constantly showing red topless divs throwing beer around in box park, ugh. Oh yeah and then you have Trump inevitably inserting himself in all the bigger matches, wouldn't be surprised if he was there to collect to world cup, John Terry style.

[AlexLaw76]

It will be crap I am sure. Sweltering heat will just slow the intensity down, with massive travelling and big time differences.

Edited yesterday at 15:04 by AlexLaw76

[die Mannyschaft]

49 minutes ago, whelk said:

Less than two weeks away and CL final hasn’t taken place yet. 

I am sure I will get into when it starts but nothing yet about it excites me. FIFA are getting worse and more exploitative, and enough said about the US. 
 

Very much expecting Tuchel to fail. Massively overrated IMO but hope that comes back to bite me. 
Enjoying Dear England 

The teams he has managed you can't really not win something. With big teama you have transfer mo et avaliable and top players. Its more luck in arriving at a team at the right time. Its all down to the players and England should easily get further than Germany in WC.

QF at least for England.  

 

[USaintA]

When was the last time you can remember genuinely expecting England to win the World Cup?

My first World Cup I can remember was Mexico 86. Thought we'd win that. Then Italia 90. I thought we'd win that one. The dream died with the penalty shootout defeat to Germany, and I don't think I've thought England could win it ever since.

[Thripp87]

Just can’t seem to get motivated by this World Cup.

Far too big a tournament, all those group games just to get rid of 16 countries, so much deadwood in there. 
 

As for Tuchel’s picks, the least said the better.

[SNSUN]

18 minutes ago, Thripp87 said:

Just can’t seem to get motivated by this World Cup.

Far too big a tournament, all those group games just to get rid of 16 countries, so much deadwood in there. 
 

As for Tuchel’s picks, the least said the better.

It's the times with the bigger competition that are all over the place. In past competitions you'd have a standard 3 group games a day at set times. This year the start times are all over the place. I wrote them in my diary the other day and there are a lot of early morning games. Which is ok, as I'm working Nights for a lot of them... but still.  

I expect nothing from England this competition so if they do ok, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen each country's finalised squads yet but it's hard to look past France IMO.

[aintforever]

I’m surprised he’s left out Luke Shaw but apart from that I don’t have a problem with Tuchel’s squad. I think it’s refreshing to have a manager with the balls to leave out big names and planning a squad around a cohesive team rather than compiling a dream team of stars.

As for the competition as a whole, it’s going to be one pointless game after another played in half empty stadiums. Will be boring as fuck until the later stages.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Am in New York a week after the final, so am lucky am missing most of it. Although it would have been fun to see what the atmosphere would have been like.

[Turkish]

5 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

It will be crap I am sure. Sweltering heat will just slow the intensity down, with massive travelling and big time differences.

The World international Soccerball Series held in the US of A is gonna be frickin awesome. With goal converters like Kane and Mbappe, wide receivers like Saka, Yamal,  from the European team taking on the mighty US over 4 weeks with multiple ties ending in a series final where we give those Europeans a final beat down! 
Let’s go US of A! get in the goal!

 

[Willo of Whiteley]

Harry Maguire, Morgan Gibbs-White and Luke Shaw not going is a mental decision. Adam Wharton probably too.

Especially when you look at those that got in. None Madueke, hasn’t he scored something like 18 goals less than Jarrod Bowen for example?

If Dan Burn was 6”1” he wouldn’t be in the squad.

Cole Palmer, poor season. Trent Alexander-Arnold, can’t defend. They aren’t big deals.

Jordan Henderson wasting a place in the squad to be a glorified coach. Explain. 

I think we’ll go out in the quarter-finals.

[Patrick Bateman]

4 hours ago, Turkish said:

 

 

What the FUCK is that? 

[Sarnia Cherie]

On 22/05/2026 at 10:56, benjii said:

Cole Palmer not included is mental.

I must have missed the wonderful season he has had.

[Wade Garrett]

On 22/05/2026 at 10:53, skintsaint said:

 

Edited 13 hours ago by Wade Garrett

[Sarnia Cherie]

16 hours ago, USaintA said:

When was the last time you can remember genuinely expecting England to win the World Cup?

My first World Cup I can remember was Mexico 86. Thought we'd win that. Then Italia 90. I thought we'd win that one. The dream died with the penalty shootout defeat to Germany, and I don't think I've thought England could win it ever since.

1966. I am one of the old dodderers left who remember standing in a packed pub watching them win against the old adversary. Happy days. I keep hoping I will experience that again in my lifetime so come on Tuchel, time's running out, mate.

[Sarnia Cherie]

12 hours ago, aintforever said:

I’m surprised he’s left out Luke Shaw but apart from that I don’t have a problem with Tuchel’s squad. I think it’s refreshing to have a manager with the balls to leave out big names and planning a squad around a cohesive team rather than compiling a dream team of stars.

As for the competition as a whole, it’s going to be one pointless game after another played in half empty stadiums. Will be boring as fuck until the later stages.

I agree. You could predict a good few of Southgate's squads before he announced them, irrespective of the season they had had. Tuchel said they may not be the best players but they make the best team. I like that. 

[Wade Garrett]

3 minutes ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

I agree. You could predict a good few of Southgate's squads before he announced them, irrespective of the season they had had. Tuchel said they may not be the best players but they make the best team. I like that. 

Sir Alf did the same thing in 66.  The best player we had was Jimmy Greaves and he picked Hurst and Hunt instead.

Contrast with Sven and his shoehorning of players just to get them on the pitch.

I prefer Tuchel’s approach.  That said, I would have taken Maguire over Stones.

[Turkish]

8 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

What the FUCK is that? 

I cannot wait for the kick off count downs, the awesome hand denials from the goal minders, so great offensive and defensive games, these guys can really play ball! When is the London Francise first tie?

[East Kent Saint]

4 hours ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

1966. I am one of the old dodderers left who remember standing in a packed pub watching them win against the old adversary. Happy days. I keep hoping I will experience that again in my lifetime so come on Tuchel, time's running out, mate.

1970 , but England had had their turn so it was Bobby Moore shoplifting fit up plus all night music bands to keep players awake etc .

[Hamilton Saint]

9 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

Sir Alf did the same thing in 66.  The best player we had was Jimmy Greaves and he picked Hurst and Hunt instead.

Contrast with Sven and his shoehorning of players just to get them on the pitch.

I prefer Tuchel’s approach.  That said, I would have taken Maguire over Stones.

Greaves played all three games in the round-robin group stage. But he was badly injured in the third game against France--a deep cut to his shin required 14 stitches. He was replaced by Geoff Hurst in the quarter final against Argentina, who kept his place in the semi-final and final.

I watched the 1966 World Cup on TV at boarding school in Shropshire. It was a magical time. We organised our own tournament--played on one of the large lawns next to the Hall that was our school, next to a giant Copper Beech tree.

Edited 3 hours ago by Hamilton Saint
shin, not thigh!

[Convict Colony]

Cant wait for the who has the hottest fans competition.

Dont know if they are playing in miami but if its saudi arabia v costa rica, be assured im watching it purely for the crowd.

Edit - just found out they are - scotland have no chance in that heat v brazil.

Edited 5 hours ago by Convict Colony

[obelisk]

Not really interested in FIFA's latest grubby festival. Might cast an eye towards a game or two if they're on in the pub while I'm there but I'll mostly be ignoring this one just like I did the last.

[Convict Colony]

2 minutes ago, obelisk said:

Not really interested in FIFA's latest grubby festival. Might cast an eye towards a game or two if they're on in the pub while I'm there but I'll mostly be ignoring this one just like I did the last.

To make it a bit more interesting i always pick a couple of underdog to follow.

This year Canada obvs to follow Larin and also gone for uzbekistan who are only 7 places behind scotland in the world rankings 🤣

[LeBizzier69]

Just seen the Mexico 86 ITV theme on X, great intro’ that one. First WC for me, panini sticker swaps at school.

Dewy eyed reminiscing aside, odd that injury prone and barely played Stones is in ahead of Maguire. Surely that’s one position you don’t want to mess about with, especially in the heat without any run of games for months.

Henderson inclusion is a shocker. Roy Keane had it spot on 5 years ago.

 

[Colinjb]

First time in my life, I just don't care.

Used to love a World Cup, but this Trump vanity project/FIFA w@nk off can f**k off. 

[Football Special]

3 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Cant wait for the who has the hottest fans competition.

Dont know if they are playing in miami but if its saudi arabia v costa rica, be assured im watching it purely for the crowd.

Edit - just found out they are - scotland have no chance in that heat v brazil.

Genuinely feel sorry for the tartan army, going to melt under those ginger wigs