Our Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 team previews start with a look at England.
The Three Lions lost the final of both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, having reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated by France.
The expectation is that they should go deep into the tournament, but could the appointment of Thomas Tuchel perhaps be the key to finally achieving glory?
In these country-by-country guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each nation, reviewing the road to the World Cup and more.
SQUAD
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
It was a perfect qualification campaign for England, who won all their group games and kept a clean sheet in every single match.
This accomplishment makes them only the second team ever to win all their World Cup qualifiers without conceding.
Defensively, the Three Lions were particularly sound, recording the lowest non-penalty expected goals (xG) conceded figure among every nation in qualifying (0.22 per 90 minutes).
Further forward, Tuchel’s men scored 22 goals and placed seventh overall for xG, with an average of 2.10 per 90 minutes, which is captured below.
BIGGEST GOAL THREATS IN QUALIFYING
*Note: the xG in the above table is non-penalty
Talisman Harry Kane ($10.5m) was the primary goal threat, racking up eight goals across the same number of matches – only Erling Haaland ($10.5m) scored more in qualifying.
He also topped his teammates for xG and non-penalty shots, with 5.55 and 32, respectively.
In contrast, Jude Bellingham ($8.3m) failed to score, despite taking 14 shots and generating 1.37 xG.
The only other player except Kane to score more than once was Eberechi Eze ($8.0m), who netted three times.
MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS IN QUALIFYING
Declan Rice ($7.0m) came out on top for creativity, with four assists from 2.47 xG assisted, proving why he will be one of the first names on Tuchel’s teamsheet this summer.
Just over half of his key passes arrived from corners and free-kicks.
Phil Foden was the only other player to assist more than once (two).
However, Bellingham, Marcus Rashford ($7.5m) and Morgan Rogers ($7.2m) all surpassed him for key passes, with 10 each.
SINCE QUALIFICATION
| Date | Opposition | Result (England first) | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2026 | Costa Rica (n) | 3-0 | Rice, Gordon (pen), Watkins |
| 6 June 2026 | New Zealand (n) | 1-0 | Kane |
| 31 March 2026 | Japan (h) | 0-1 | |
| 27 March 2026 | Uruguay (h) | 1-1 | White |
In the March internationals, England were really poor in both matches, managing only a draw against Uruguay before suffering a narrow defeat to Japan.
However, they stepped up a gear on Wednesday, with an impressive performance to beat Costa Rica 3-0 in Orlando.
Rice, Anthony Gordon ($7.0m) and Ollie Watkins ($7.9m) were all on target for Thomas Tuchel’s men, who lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation:
WORLD CUP FIXTURES
England’s toughest test comes in Round 1, when they face Croatia, who are ranked 11th in the FIFA World Rankings.
Easier fixtures follow against Ghana and, in particular, Panama.
However, qualification could potentially be assured before Round 3, increasing the risk of rotation.
TOP FANTASY PICKS
As one of the bookies’ favourites to win the World Cup Golden Boot this summer (see below), Kane is clearly the standout attacker.
The penalty taker enters the World Cup in superb form, having netted 61 club goals across 2025/26.
He’s also been England’s top shot taker at both Euro 2024 and the 2022 World Cup, with 18 and 12 respectively.
Kane will surely be the main man for England, but who else?
Rice is more of your slow and steady type, but he is nailed-on to start, carries assist potential and could pose a threat to the free-kick/chances created bonus, having averaged 2.95 key passes per 90 minutes in qualifying:
With Anderson anchoring the midfield, Rice might also be given a bit more freedom to push forward in open play.
Indeed, Rice got his shot away and scored from inside the box against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
At the back, the defence sometimes has question marks, but only really against tougher opposition.
Reece James ($5.2m) brings creativity from his right-back role, while Nico O’Reilly ($4.7m) is another option on the left, especially if he can carry his club form over to the national team.
Given the uncertainty surrounding who starts at centre-back, the full-backs are probably the best defenders to consider, at least for the time being.
