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It’s not a controversial statement to say that the best squad in world soccer belongs to the England national team. It can be argued with, sure, but it is a statement that holds a lot of weight. You can back up your case by pointing to the players on the fringes of the squad, such as Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish. New coach Thomas Tuchel has a lot of talent to work with.
And yet, we can differentiate between England’s talent pool and performances, coming up with the equally uncontroversial statement that England is not the best team in world soccer. Best squad, maybe. Best team, certainly not – at least as it stands. Tuchel has, however, a chance to do what previous managers have failed to do: Turn the undoubted deep talent pool of players into a winning team.
England among World Cup betting favorites
As it stands, England is the 4th favorite in the football betting markets for the 2026 World Cup. Their odds, averaging around 7/1, put them behind Spain, France, and Brazil. It is tight, though, and sportsbooks have really lumped that quartet at the top of the market. Of course, it would be no surprise should a team like Argentina or Portugal triumph, but the odds favor Brazil, Spain, England, and France.
Tuchel should be reminded, however, that England has been in this position many times before. The 3 Lions started as favorites for a handful of major tournaments in recent years and always came up short. To be fair, under Gareth Southgate, England threw off the mantle of ‘chokers,’ reaching the finals of Euro 2020 and 2024, as well as the Semi-Final of the 2018 World Cup.
However, Tuchel is tasked with taking the team a step further. There has been a sense down the years that England has had the right ingredients but lacked the correct recipe. Previous managers failed to get the most out of a generation, including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Rio Ferdinand. Now, Tuchel must find the right formula for Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Bakayo Saka, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, and others. It’s easier said than done.
Same issues with fitting in players
Tuchel has a deeper squad than his predecessors. In attack, in particular, there will be a lot of good players who do not make the plane to the United States in the summer of 2026. There are some questions over his defensive options, however, and he arguably lacks a concrete central defensive pairing in the mold of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. That said, there are high hopes for younger players like Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Chelsea’s Levi Colwill.
The key issue for Tuchel, though, will be getting his best players to gel. Some, like Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, play similar positions for their clubs, so Tuchel must either find a solution to get them playing together or drop one from the team. Previous managers struggled with getting three world-class players – Gerrard, Lampard, and Paul Scholes – onto the same team. Tuchel has a similar problem with Foden, Bellingham, and Palmer.
The good news for the German coach is that he has time to find the right balance for his team. England has traditionally sailed through the qualifying rounds for major tournaments, and we can’t see the 2026 World Cup being any different. He should have some time to experiment to find a formula that works. If he does, it should act as a warning sign to rival nations. As we said, this might just be the best squad of players in world soccer.
