England 26-man squad named for 2026 World Cup by Thomas Tuchel

England, 26-man squad named

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Reece James (Chelsea), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)

We ran this story earlier this week … and now US officials are Congo’s national soccer team must isolate before travelling to the country for the World Cup. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, confirmed to ESPN on Friday that the Congolese delegation must maintain a bubble where they currently are training in Belgium and isolate for 21 days or risk being denied entry. Congo is in Group K for this summer’s World Cup in North America. Its first game is against Portugal on 17 June in Houston, followed by matches against Colombia on 23 June in Guadalajara, Mexico, and against Uzbekistan on 27 June in Atlanta. “We’ve been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on 11 June,” Giuliani said. “We’ve made it very clear to the Congo government as well, that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer." All of Congo’s team members – including with French head coach Sébastien Desabre, defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United) and forward Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United) – are based outside of the central African country. That said, it looks like Ebola situation is worsening in Congo.

It’s very interesting that Djed Spence has been named in the squad, given that he is not an automatic first-choice full-back for a struggling Tottenham team. Spence also broke his jaw earlier this week after a challenge from Chelsea’s Liam Delap, but is clear to play for Spurs against Everton in a protective mask and is thus fit for the England duty. In fairness to Tuchel, he was clear on why he picked Spence, viewing the former Middlesbrough defender as a “specialist”, something he has made reference to in many of his selection comments. Spence is the fastest player in the squad and is valued for his one-on-one defending. That means he might be deployed with a specific task of pocketing an elite opposition winger. Here’s what Tuchel said in full on Spence earlier: "He was excellent in every single match he played for us. He suffers for the third change of coach at his club. He brings something to the group that we don’t have in his profile: he loves defending, he loves one-on-one defending, he’s the fastest player in our squad. That makes him a standout full-back for us. He can play both sides. Before the March camp, we have this discussion and said ‘we’re a bit concerned with what is going on at Tottenham. You’re not getting the minutes, you’re not having the impact that we want to see. If you come here, you have to prove yourself again.’ He honestly did that against Uruguay and that was the decision that I can really trust him."

Now that all of the Premier League team news is in, here are the predicted line-ups for Sunday. I wonder how many England players will take to the field? There will be plenty of internationals keen to avoid any heartbreaking injuries on the last day of the season. In our predicted Arsenal line-up, there is no Saka, Rice or Saliba.

It’s Fiorentina v Atalanta this evening. The Bergamo club announced a new club crest earlier today. Thoughts? “Ours is a long story made of hard work, joy, athletes, sweat-soaked shirts and passionate fans," trumpeted president Antonio Percassi. “It is also a story of Bergamasque identity, reflected in the crests that have marked the different eras throughout nearly 120 years of Atalanta history. We chose to stand out even more, to be instantly recognisable. Here is Atalanta’s new crest. History. Identity. Values. Future."

An exclusive from Tom Garry: A proposal to allow four academy sides from Women’s Super League clubs to join the third tier from 2027 has been approved by the FA Women’s National League board.

Barcelona star Alexia Putellas refused to answer questions about her future beyond this season as the former Ballon d’Or winner prepares for Saturday’s Women’s Champions League final against Lyon. Both sides are chasing a quadruple. It is Barcelona’s sixth straight final — and seventh in eight years — in an era shaped by Aitana Bonmatí and Putellas. The latte has been linked by Spanish media with a move to London City Lionesses, who belong to Lyon owner Michele Kang. “I am only focusing on the immediate future, which is the final," Putellas, winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2021 and 2022, told reporters. That doesn’t sound like someone that is going to stay.

As well as his England squad announcement, Thomas Tuchel earlier had a word for Pep Guardiola: "The impact he had on every league where he trained, it’s just one of a kind, just one of the very, very, very best. He made a big revolution with the way he played at Barcelona and then he put everything upside down in the German league, and then he comes here and crushes every record. It’s just outstanding. There are no words that can describe this determination and this level of input, it’s just highest, highest level."

Robbie Keane resigns as head coach of Ferencvaros. The former Republic of Ireland striker is well regarded after winning the Hungarian championship last season and the Hungarian Cup this season. He also coached Maccabi Tel Aviv to Israeli Premier League in 2023–24. Keane is now the joint favourite to take over at Celtic. Martin O’Neill is equally backed to keep the job he did so well in this season just gone. Will be very interesting to keep an eye on that one in the coming days or weeks. I imagine Celtic will want to act fast and appoint quickly for the sake of clarity and summer planning. O’Neill, of course, will be in charge on Saturday as Celtic and Dunfermline meet in the final of the Scottish Cup for the fifth time.

Hello everyone. Back from my stroll around ‘The Level’ in Brighton, which is just about the only flat bit of ground in the city. Let’s dive back into the day’s footy news and analysis.

Barney Ronay has weighed in on Thomas Tuchel’s England selection. "A word here on how the media works. People don’t really care about England the way they used to outside of actual tournament games. They care about clubs and players. They care about perceived injustice. A reasoned squad analysis is cold product. But talking energetically about the snubbing of favourite players will make the line go up."

More on De Zerbi and Romero from Ed Aarons. "Romero, who has not played since injuring a knee against Sunderland last month but has a chance of playing at the World Cup, has been criticised for opting to attend Belgrano’s game against River Plate in a league playoff final. But De Zerbi said Romero’s trip had been sanctioned by Tottenham’s medical department and pointed out that the 28-year-old cannot affect the result at home to Everton regardless."

Tony Hughes gets in touch: “I feel Harvey Barnes gambled and lost. I don’t necessarily blame him - he’s English - but I think making even the squad for England was unlikely for him, whereas he’d have been a shoo-in for Scotland. “The rebuttal of course is that he doesn’t feel Scottish so why play for them. Did Matt Elliott? Did Neil Sullivan? Does Che Adams? Probably not but it didn’t stop them playing and putting themselves out there on the international stage. Barnes, at 28, could have played at a World Cup, likely the only finals tournament he’d ever play in. “

Listen to Jonathan Liew on the England squad.

Breaking news…from Elgin City. Club statement: “Following the conclusion of an internal investigation conducted in accordance with the clubs policies and procedures, we can confirm that the men’s first-team manager has been dismissed with immediate effect after a finding of gross misconduct. “The club will make no further comment on this matter. We can now fully focus on the positive process of appointing a new manager and the continuation of our player recruitment plans. “We sincerely thank our players, supporters, sponsors and staff for their continued support whilst we complete this process.” The manager is Allan Hale, suspended on 7 May “with immediate effect, pending an ongoing investigation”. Elgin are in Scottish League Two.

Manchester United play at Brighton on Sunday, a game far bigger for Brighton but it will be Michael Carrick’s first game as permanent United manager. “It’s good to make steps, good to get in the Champions League, good to finish third, but (I want) to make this place better. I must admit on Sunday in the stadium it felt a little bit different. There was a real togetherness and kind of enjoyment from everyone and that was powerful for me. “Supporting Manchester United and looking forward to what can happen should always be like that. That’s the drive (to win trophies) and for us to reward the fans would be pretty special."

Will Unwin also did a season-by-season guide to the Pep Guardiola years. "2018-19: domestic treble winners. A comparatively poor 98 points and 95 goals followed but every single one was vital as Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool fought City until the bitter end. The two clubs exchanged the lead at the top of the table 32 times over the course of the season. City won their final 14 league matches on their way to domestic glory, lifting the League Cup and the FA Cup along the way. It was an English team that would ruin the European dream once more, as Tottenham surprisingly eliminated City in the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a dramatic tie in Manchester."

Andrew Benton gets in touch: “The big question for me is can these disparate players gel really well together as a team, and develop from there into brilliance? Well, I trust Thomas Tuchel’s experience and vision to bring it all the way home, sixty years on. Wouldn’t that be cool?!"

Will Unwin spoke to the Hull owner, the Turkish Simon Cowell. Think that’s supposed to be a good thing. It’s the Championship playoff final tomorrow. “Wembley is a place that I suffered when I was a kid with Turkish national team games and now I am going to Wembley for a final as an owner of a club that I bought four years ago," says Ilicali. “It means a lot to me. Wembley stadium, the dream of our fans filling the stands with their flags – amber and black, colours I love so much – all around … Imagining it is getting me excited."

Similar sentiments from Nuno Espirito Santo for Jarrod Bowen. West Ham have other considerations on Super Sunday. “He was sad. It’s something that Jarrod really, really wanted to achieve in his personal career. Being a World Cup representative is one of the most important things. “He’s sad, but he will immediately turn the page and focus on Sunday.” “We are very proud to have Jarrod as skipper. Sometimes things don’t go well but the work rate and the commitment of Jarrod and the way he leads by example on his team-mates makes us very, very proud of him as a club captain. “The pressure? No, he embraced it. It’s not the reason. He embraced it and he’s a leader. “I think it’s not the best to channel any frustration. Jarrod doesn’t have to prove nothing to anybody. He just has to be himself, the best of him and the best of all the players. That’s what we need on Sunday."

Let’s pick up some loose ends from a big day, including Cole Palmer. His current Chelsea coach, Calum McFarlane, has proffered soothing words to one of England’s exiles. “In life and in football, especially in football, I’ve learnt that you need to take every setback as a positive There’s going to be lots of them. There’s going to be losses, there’s going to be moments like this. If you have the right mindset, you can turn it into a positive. “It’s not anything to do with me. I’ve spoken loads of times about how I feel and how the club feel about Cole. The England manager has made a decision. In that moment it’s probably best to speak to him. “It’s football. You’re going to have so many moments like this, whether it be on the pitch, off the pitch. The reason they’re at this level and are able to play for a club of this magnitude is because they can deal with setbacks."

Thanks, Michael Butler, quite the stint there.

And with that, I’ll hand over to John Brewin for the next hour. In a bit!

The specific motives for Romero going back to Argentina are unclear, although it should be flagged that his boyhood club have an Argentina Cup match on Saturday night. Maybe he wanted to watch that instead. That the Tottenham club captain is not even on the sidelines for Sunday’s crunch clash will surely have gone down badly in the dressing room, as well as with supporters. I can’t personally see the defender being at Spurs next season, regardless of whether De Zerbi’s side survive relegation.

De Zerbi understands fans' anger over absent Romero. You may have missed the story regarding Christian Romero, the injured Tottenham captain who has sparked controversy by flying to Argentina days before Spurs host Everton in Sunday’s huge relegation decider. Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi confirmed on Friday that Romero is back in his homeland at boyhood club Belgrano to continue his rehabilitation from a knee injury before the World Cup and whilst the Spurs boss was initially guarded about his skipper’s absence, he acknowledged the disappointment of the London club’s supporters. "100%, I understand. [Romero] spoke with the medical staff and together they decided to go to Argentina to complete the rehab with Argentinian medical staff. I want to be clear, I am not stupid. If I understand there is any player who thinks for himself before the club, I can’t be the same Roberto, but with Cuti Romero, I can’t say anything because with me, in my time, he has b