This does not feel like the end of an England era, something emphasised by the age profile of the current squad.
We may not know who the manager will be in 2026, and the conveyor belt of academy talent will bring us new heroes, but within this squad is a core group that can take England to the next World Cup.
Picking a team for the future is a fool’s errand, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try.
Jordan Pickford
Pickford will be 32 before the next World Cup begins, but that’s clearly less of a factor with goalkeepers. Aaron Ramsdale is the obvious other option (he will be 28) but Pickford has the gloves for now and will keep them until Euro 2024 at least. Dean Henderson could shoot up this list depending on what happens when he leaves Manchester United, while Stoke City’s Josef Bursik, an Under-21 international currently, is highly rated but would only be 23.
Reece James
Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier may have left the international scene by 2026, but the conveyor belt of English right-backs continues. Died Spence, Tino Livramento and Ben Johnson are all coming through, but it’s clearly going to be a toss-up between James – injured for this tournament – and Trent Alexander-Arnold, barely used in it. Let’s say James, as it stands.
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There’s every chance that left-back is one of the positions where a relative veteran could be retained: Ben Chilwell will be 29 and Luke Shaw almost 32 – Chilwell is clearly an option. But at 23, Mitchell’s breakout transfer move from Crystal Palace is coming soon and he could well be an attacking, overlapping option on the left to mirror the right flank, thus allowing the left-sided forward to drift centrally and deep.
Fikayo Tomori
England will surely have little choice but to overhaul their defence over the next three years. Of the centre-backs who arrived home on Sunday, Eric Dier and John Stones will be 32 and Conor Coady and Harry Maguire will be 33. Tomori is the obvious next cab off the rank, with both international and Champions League experience and will be 28 when the next World Cup comes around. Now he needs to force his way in before the European Championship.
Ben White
Clearly a risky selection, before we know the full extent of what caused his mid-tournament departure at the World Cup. The initial diagnosis was “personal reasons”, but then news broke of an argument with assistant manager Steve Holland and White flying to Dubai to join Arsenal the morning after England’s exit. These events can have a lasting effect on an international career, but White is evidently capable enough. Keep an eye on Levi Colwill, if he can get regular minutes quickly at Brighton, and Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah.
Declan Rice
He’s a fine tackler, he is incredibly disciplined positionally and incredibly disciplined in general (three yellow cards in 34 international appearances), he is becoming a more progressive passer and ball carrier at club level and he is wholly committed to the cause. The next age of Rice comes with his impending move to a Champions League club, but he could well be captaining this team at the next World Cup.
Jude Bellingham
It says everything about the rise of this remarkable young man and midfielder that Bellingham will only be the same age when the next World Cup begins as Phil Foden is now. Development is never linear, and a move back to the Premier League will create additional pressure, but nothing about Bellingham suggests that he cannot thrive upon it.
Conor Gallagher
If England have a problem position, it is a combative, tiger-like midfielder who can roam forward and back to fight fires, creating danger when he wins the ball in the opponent’s half but with the energy to do the same on the edge of our own box. Gallagher isn’t quite it, but at 22 he’s probably the closest England have until someone younger comes along. I’m not foolish enough to try and pick out a name… oh go on then: Darko Gyabi, who went from Man City to Leeds as part of the Kalvin Phillips deal, or Adam Wharton, who is playing his first professional season for Blackburn Rovers.
Phil Foden
There’s simply nothing to stand in his way. Foden is trusted implicitly by Pep Guardiola, trusted by Gareth Southgate too and could feasibly play in any one of three positions in this team. Guardiola chose to manage Foden’s workload to avoid causing longer-term issues of burnout; England will surely feel the benefit. He will be 26 in 2026 – he might even be better than he is now.
Bukayo Saka
The attacking midfield/wide forward positions are easily the most difficult to pick from one World Cup cycle to the next. The age of Foden and Saka in this tournament prove as much. If the same pattern is to be followed, we are looking for a 17 and 18-year-old. Or, Saka could just keep improving, continue to flourish at club level and head into the next World Cup aged 25 and with bags of experience of highs and lows.
Harry Kane
See here’s the thing: ideally we would not still be reliant on Kane in 2026. He will be 33 and have played a ridiculous amount of football. His talent, particularly to link up play and still get beyond the last man, may have declined a little or a lot by then. But there are no obvious replacements, save Marcus Rashford becoming a pure centre-forward, England playing with a false No 9 or a youngster breaking onto the scene (and there are few obvious options in the Under-21s and Under-19s). So this will be Kane’s last stand.
The next generation
Here are a few players currently under the age of 22 that might well be making an impact off the bench in 2026.
- Harvey Elliott – Growing all the time and getting regular Liverpool minutes.
- Taylor Harwood-Bellis – Enjoying his time at Burnley and could be in the Premier League next year, if loan from Man City is extended.
- Cole Palmer – Guardiola is keeping him around, which – as with Foden – is a good sign
- Noni Madueke – Still only 20 and a regular at PSV. If they sell Cody Gakpo, Madueke only becomes more important.
- Charlie Patino – The same age as Bellingham, epitomising Jude’s incredibly rapid rise. Has to push for chances at Arsenal or move on.
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