Thomas Tuchel has named England's official 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, and it is defined by who is left out. Phil Foden and Cole Palmer are the headline omissions, alongside Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Jarrod Bowen, Levi Colwill, Adam Wharton and Trevoh Chalobah. WorldCuply.com projected the 26 before the announcement and called 21 of 26 correctly. Below is the official squad by position, with the five names we projected that did not make it struck through, and the five call-ups we missed marked.
England's official 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup is defined as much by who misses out as by who travels. These are the eight most significant names left out, ordered by how big a shock the omission is.
The biggest shock of the squad. Reporting indicates that Thomas Tuchel was not convinced by Foden's recent performances for England, or by his club form at Manchester City, and the creative forward is left out despite years as a fixture of the senior setup.
The second headline omission. After what reporting described as an inconsistent season and lingering fitness concerns, Palmer misses the 26, a remarkable call given how central he looked to England's plans only a year ago.
A decorated tournament performer for England across multiple major finals, but Tuchel has gone for a quicker and more mobile back line for 2026. Maguire's experience is left at home.
Fitness concerns and a lack of match rhythm appear to have been decisive. The left-back misses out after a season too often interrupted to build a settled run of games.
More unlucky than out of form. Bowen is squeezed out by the sheer depth of competition for England's wide attacking places rather than by any decline in his own level.
A rising centre-back, but Tuchel has preferred the contrasting profiles of Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah. Colwill falls outside the final 26.
A midfielder admired for his composure on the ball, Wharton misses out after a season interrupted by injury, leaving him short of the rhythm a World Cup place demands.
Reportedly close to selection, but Chalobah falls just outside the final 26 as Tuchel settles the defensive places. One of the finest of margins in the whole squad.
Here is England's confirmed squad for the 2026 World Cup: three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders and seven forwards. WorldCuply.com's pre-announcement projection is marked against it. Names struck through are players we projected who did not make the official 26; a green tag marks the five call-ups our projection missed. Harry Kane keeps the captaincy.
For every shock omission there is a call-up that raises eyebrows. These four are the genuine bolters of Tuchel's official 26, the names that pre-announcement projections, this site's included, did not see coming. Our projection did correctly anticipate the less obvious calls of Ivan Toney, Jarell Quansah and Dan Burn; the name we wrongly tipped was Morgan Gibbs-White.
The most surprising name in the 26. A young Manchester City defender, O'Reilly is a genuine bolter into a World Cup squad, rewarded for his rise at club level and exactly the kind of athletic, versatile profile Tuchel has built this back line around.
A Tottenham Hotspur defender whose form forced his way into the conversation. Spence offers pace and energy down the flank, and his selection is one of the clearest signs that Tuchel has picked on current form over reputation.
A strong season at Nottingham Forest earned Anderson a place few projections expected. A mobile, all-action midfielder, he adds legs and progressive passing to a group built around Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
An Arsenal forward who gives Tuchel another direct, one-on-one wide option. Madueke's inclusion deepens an attacking pool that already runs through Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford.
Taken together, the omissions and call-ups point to a clear set of selection principles behind England's 2026 World Cup squad:
Before Thomas Tuchel named the squad, WorldCuply.com projected all 26 places from the overlapping reporting of five outlets:
That projection called 21 of the 26 places correctly. The five it got wrong: we projected Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker, Luke Thomas, Morgan Gibbs-White and Curtis Jones, and Tuchel instead selected Dean Henderson, Nico O'Reilly, Djed Spence, Elliot Anderson and Noni Madueke. All eight of the headline omissions we flagged, led by Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, were confirmed out.
This page keeps the projection visible rather than quietly replacing it: the five misses are struck through in the squad list above, and the five call-ups are tagged, so the record is transparent. The squad is now the official 26 as confirmed by head coach Thomas Tuchel through the England app and a presentation at Wembley.
England are one of 48 nations heading to the 2026 World Cup. Explore the rest of the WorldCuply.com guide:
The top 12 players going to the 2026 World Cup, including England's Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.
View the top 12 ›The Pot 1 seeds for the 2026 draw and where England sit among the tournament favourites.
See the seeds ›All 104 fixtures across 16 host cities, with kickoff times you can filter to your team.
Open the schedule ›The latest editorial coverage and storylines from the road to the 2026 World Cup.
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