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England unveils World Cup squad: Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White misses out

John Stones, Djed Spence, Dan Burn, Ivan Toney, and more, make the cut.
Ben Lyons Senior Editor 22 May 2026

England has just confirmed its 26-man line-up for the 2026 World Cup, to be played in the United States, Mexico, and Canada this summer. The team features many familiar and expected faces, but there are some surprising inclusions and some surprising omissions.

For one, Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Manchester City's Phil Foden, Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold, Manchester United's Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelley, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, and Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton have not made the cut.

As for the complete team, the full squad list can be seen below.

England Men's World Cup 2026 team

Goalkeepers:

  • Jordan Pickford (Everton)
  • Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
  • James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders:

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

Midfielders:

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

Forwards:

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

What do you think about this England line-up?

https://x.com/England/status/2057749785843576894

Senior Editor Ben was a Senior Editor at Gamereactor UK. When he wasn’t writing, editing or filming for Gamereactor, he could usually be found playing an FPS or getting lost in a sprawling RPG.
Full profile Gamereactor author since October 2020 · 18,577 published articles
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