{"id":4298,"date":"2026-05-05T15:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4298"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:35:19","slug":"when-is-the-england-squad-for-the-world-cup-2026-announced-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4298","title":{"rendered":"When is the England squad for the World Cup 2026 announced? | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"435\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2268532390.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28245323\" alt=\"England Training &#038; Press Conference\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Thomas Tuchel has some difficult decisions ahead (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thomas Tuchel will likely be agonising over the make-up of his England squad for the World Cup with just five weeks to go until the tournament gets underway on June 11.<\/p>\n<p>The Three Lions boss has the unenviable task of whittling down his envious collection of talent into just 26 spots, with the chosen players looking to win the first trophy for the England men\u2019s team since their iconic World Cup triumph in 1966.<\/p>\n<p>Tuchel\u2019s team get their Group L campaign underway against Croatia on June 17, before turning their attention to Ghana on June 23 and then Panama on June 27.<\/p>\n<p>But before then, Tuchel faces an anxious wait to see if his stars can make it through the final weeks of the season unscathed with matters at the top and bottom of the table \u2013 as well as in Europe \u2013 still to be resolved.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When does the England squad get announced?<\/h2>\n<p>England, along with the other teams taking part in the World Cup, must submit a preliminary squad of up to 55 players by <strong>Monday, May 11<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The final squad of 26 players must be submitted to FIFA by <strong>Saturday, May 30<\/strong>which is 18 days before their opener against Croatia.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2269376896.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28245377\" alt=\"England v Japan - International Friendly\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Elliot Anderson will likely be a starter for England at the World Cup (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Up until the first game, national team managers will also be able to take an additional nine players to the World Cup to take part in training.<\/p>\n<p>Players must be released to their national teams by their clubs by Monday, May 25. There is an exception, however, for players who will be taking part in the Europa Conference League (May 27) and Champions League (May 30) finals.<\/p>\n<p>This could prove something of a headache for Tuchel, with English players from Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Crystal Palace joining up late with the squad should any of the sides make it through to their respective European finals.<\/p>\n<p>Tuchel will have the opportunity to fine-tune his preparations with two pre-tournament friendlies scheduled against New Zealand and Costa Rica on June 6 and June 10 respectively.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tEngland&#8217;s World Cup fixtures\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<strong>England<\/strong> vs Croatia (June 17, 9pm BST, Dallas)<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>England<\/strong> vs Ghana (June 23, 9pm BST, Boston)<\/li>\n<li>Panama vs <strong>England<\/strong> (June 27, 10pm BST, New York-New Jersey)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who could be in the England squad?<\/h2>\n<p>Whilst predicting the make-up of any World Cup squad can be a difficult undertaking, there are several players who are all but guaranteed a spot on the plane.<\/p>\n<p>These include the likes of Jordan Pickford, Nico O\u2019Reilly, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.metro.co.uk\/i\/html_modules\/2026\/03_MAR\/260330_england_players_carousels\/v1\/index.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"550px\" class=\"metro-iframe iframe-autoheight \" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" name=\"69fa067fad6fa\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It also seems extremely likely that players such as Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon will all be packing their passports for the trip Stateside this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus Rashford has also seemingly done enough on loan at Barcelona to represent his country at a fifth major tournament, having missed out on the squad for Euro 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Rashford\u2019s Manchester United teammate Kobbie Mainoo, who has been one of the standout performers for Manchester United since Ruben Amorim was sacked, also appears to have persuaded Tuchel that he should head to the World Cup as cover for Rice and Anderson.<\/p>\n<p>While Cole Palmer\u2019s inclusion is not thought to be under any serious doubt, an underwhelming season with Chelsea, compared to his lofty standards, has at least started a debate as to whether the 23-year-old deserves his place in Tuchel\u2019s squad \u2013 something which seemed unquestionable 12 months ago.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"640\" height=\"965\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/possible-england-world-cup-xi-1777980980.png?w=640\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28242996\" alt=\"England 4-2-3-1 lineup\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>How England could line-up at the World Cup (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One player who is facing an uphill battle to make the final cut is Phil Foden, who has fallen out of favour at Manchester City in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>Once a shoe-in for previous England squads, it now seems increasingly likely that Foden will have a free summer on his hands with Tuchel not short of options in the forward areas.<\/p>\n<p>The battle to be Kane\u2019s understudy is an unpredictable one, with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all in the mix.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Coronation Street and Emmerdale facing long-term schedule chaos<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Inside Coldplay\u2019s World Cup 2026 halftime show as Global Citizen boss teases production<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Man Utd urged to sign \u00a380m England star before the World Cup begins<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Tuchel has some difficult decisions ahead (Picture: Getty) Thomas Tuchel will likely be agonising&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}