World Cup 2026: Page 2 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One more in the Tolly

World Cup 2026

tazmania

No Wharton? That's odd

Burnwinter

The more I look at Tuchel's squad the better it gets. I think he got the centrebacks spot on too.

I think Tuchel's a dick, always found him quite laughable at Chelsea, but I reckon maybe he's got the right attitude for this England after all those years of warm fuzzy Southgate-isms. Exile the overrated, punish the layabouts and string up all the resisters by their ankles.

TambourineMan

Did MLS make the squad?

Asterix

Squad not officially announced but speculation is that he didn't.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/21/england-world-cup-squad-harry-maguire-thomas-tuchel

Guardian and others basing their reports on players social media announcements as they post that they missed out.

invisibleman18

BBC posted an expected squad of 25 which includes Madueke and Eze in addition to Rice and Saka and stated the final place is expected to go to MLS, Alexander-Arnold or Garner.

Sicario2

Klaus lorddulla would get 10 g/a in that league.

England won’t make it past the quarters with this squad. Which is good as I want Rice and Saka rested asap

Klaus

Sicario2 Well Ronaldo scored like half as many as Toney.

This is not a league season where you need four subs on every position. When you pick a squad for a summer tournament it's vital that you go with the players that form the best team and not just the best team of individual players. England have never, for as long as I've been alive, understood the difference (I remember when all the newspapers joked that they should have left Owen Hargreaves at home and brought more training cones instead). They finally have a manager who does and I think that's refreshing.

I don't expect Rice and Saka to get any rest unfortunately, which means it's very important that we sign good alternatives to them this summer.

Qwiss

Klaus When you pick a squad for a summer tournament it's vital that you go with the players that form the best team and not just the best team of individual players. England have never, for as long as I've been alive, understood the difference

Spot on. You bring Madueke because he's the second best RW available rather than bringing Palmer or Foden and playing them out there because it makes you better overall. Madueke will give you width and lets be honest he'll roast most full backs at a world cup too.

QuincyAbeyie

Lol, I appreciate that they needed to learn their lesson from the Gerrard/Lampard times, but some of these picks are unhinged. 😂

As a non-Englishman I'm happy with it though.

Qwiss

QuincyAbeyie Henderson is the only mad one I think and he's obviously there for his leadership in the dressing room. Gibbs-White should feel hard done by but Palmer and Foden just don't deserve to be there. They've been shit for England and have had fairly poor seasons.

DCL might have had a case but Toney and Watkins have proven themselves decent back ups to Kane previously.

Gurgen

I think the picks make a lot of sense. Not that I care, I hope England goes out asap so our guys get some rest

Mirth

Tuchel also seems of the mind that if this doesn’t work out he’ll probably leave any way and do something else interesting. A lot of other English coaches will have the pressure of being a public pariah for the years that follow and therefore are incentivised to play it safe.

Klaus

Qwiss Definitely. Same reason he picked Spence over Trent I reckon: it's not because he's a better individual, but Tuchel gets a leftback and a rightback in one, who's more defensively sound than Hall and much fitter than Shaw. That's squad pragmatism. Trent wasn't going to start anyway and if you bring him you're only setting yourself up for a lot of questions whenever there's the slightest tension. You don't need that guy around to piss on the fun for four weeks.

QuincyAbeyie

Qwiss Trent, Wharton (for Henderson) and Hall are the obvious ones for me. I also thought about Maguire, but after his comments it's obvious that he'd be poison in the dressing room if he wasn't starting so it's a good omission.

Too bad MLS didn't feature earlier in the season, the way he's playing now he'd be an option at least.

Panda

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

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

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

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

The midfield and attack make sense to me. Although Henderson is questionable but I get it - experienced player and will provide more than just his bit part role/minutes.

Madueke making it over Palmer is hilarious from a laughing at Chelsea fans point of view.

I think the defence is the weakest part of the squad, it's quite average for me and has the most questionable decisions.

Relying on James, Livramento, Stones to stay fit is asking a lot. Think he should have only taken a risk on 2 of them max. Personally would have gone for TAA instead of Spence, Shaw instead of Livramento and Maguire instead of Quansah.

Qwiss

Klaus TBH a good coach would figure out how to fit Trent in. He's pretty much the only World class player England have for their back 4.

Claudius

This is a well thought out squad. Good combination of skill and workrate. He has also avoided players who are very particular and need pieces built around them, particularly Palmer and Foden.

RowJimmy

Qwiss
I agree in principle but the fact that the other defenders aren't "world class" is the core of the problem - it's much easier to carry a playmaker who is not much of a defender at RB if you have a CB like Saliba or VVD sitting next to them.
I also think that it's O'Reilly that I'd be looking to release. He was City's most effective attacking player against us.

Klaus

Qwiss That was maybe true two years ago but what has he done since his move to Real Madrid? He's coming off a poor season and he needs to be carried because he can't defend. He's always been a player who plays for himself first and foremost. Tuchel probably looked at the Bayern game in Champions League and saw Diaz walk past Trent like he wasn't even there and figured it's the last thing he needs in a cup tournament. If you leave Palmer and Foden at home for being crap then you have to hold Trent to the same standard.

Mirth

I feel Welbz is slightly hard done by

tazmania

Welbz and Wharton and even Garner are misses. Liveramento, Spence, Toney and Noni don't belong there if we're being honest. John Stones too

banduan

tazmania Livramento and Toney are quality. Spence is hugely overrated. Noni I have no idea how he got in ahead of Bowen.

CPM

Noni has torn it up for England, and his 1-v-1 skillset is an asset in tournament football. He's been bad in recent months but he's still a quality player.

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