By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-06-15 11:29:51 | Updated at 2026-06-16 04:40:04
17 hours ago
As England embark on another attempt to win a first major tournament since 1966, our writers pick the team they think Thomas Tuchel should select to face Croatia this week.
England face Croatia in Texas on Wednesday, as the last of the 12 groups at this expanded 2026 World Cup gets started.
After back-to-back runners-up medals at the European Championship, England, now led by Thomas Tuchel, are going for gold. The aim is simple and clear: win the World Cup.
Only, England haven’t done that since 1966, and they’ve never done it anywhere other than on home soil. And, in this bigger-than-ever World Cup, for the first time, the eventual winners will have to navigate eight matches.
In the heat of a North American summer, it’s going to be a big test, and the length of the tournament has surely got to be taken into consideration when Tuchel selects his starting XI for the opening game.
However, to go deep, you have to make sure you get there, and that means taking no chances in the group stage. Finishing top – which would mean a round-of-32 game against a third-placed team from another group – would be far more preferable than coming second and facing the runners-up from Group K, which is likely to be Portugal or Colombia.
So, who should Tuchel pick to face Croatia, England’s toughest group-stage opponent on paper, in Wednesday’s game? Our writers have chosen their preferred XIs and explained their decisions below.
Ali Tweedale – Gordon Deserves to Start
England don’t have tonnes of options to play on the left flank, but Anthony Gordon should get the nod ahead of Marcus Rashford. He was a constant threat in the final warm-up game against Costa Rica, getting a goal and an assist, and having more touches in the opposition box than any other player on the pitch (6) despite having fewer touches overall (37) than any other England starter. Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke could both play there, but neither would be in their best position. Gordon would.
Otherwise, I’ve considered how many games England could be about to play, and the many injury-prone players in the squad. Reece James should be first choice at right-back, but he will struggle to play every game, so play Djed Spence, a much more solid defender, for England’s most difficult group game. James will need to be managed.
At centre-back, it would be great to have John Stones, but I cannot see him playing anything like eight games. He started only five Premier League games all season. Go with the pairing likely to start most – or all? – of their games: Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa.
There have been doubts about Bukayo Saka’s fitness, but my opinion is that England need him enough that they have to risk him. He is their best attacker aside from Harry Kane, and he can be rested later in the group stage if the opportunity arises.
Matt Furniss – No Saka and No Stones
I think Tuchel should start with 10 of the 11 players who started the final warm-up game against Costa Rica, with the only change being Guéhi coming in to replace Stones. I just don’t think that you can start Stones, who has played just 1,144 minutes of competitive club football since August 2025, over him.
The biggest call is leaving Saka out of the starting XI for this one. I think he should be eased into the tournament with the hope that he comes good in the knockout stages. Madueke has shown he can cause decent defenders problems, and the balance will be good in the front four with Gordon on the left.
The team might look like a 4-2-3-1 on paper, but I think we’ll often see Nico O’Reilly pushing on into more of a wing-back role on the left, finding pockets of space in the attacking half and pushing Gordon inside, with Reece James dropping in to become a third centre-back.
Jude Bellingham has to start over Morgan Rogers – you can’t leave a player like Bellingham out in the World Cup if he’s fit.
Ryan Benson – Rashford and Stones Get the Nod
There is a hint of unpredictability about Croatia because they’ve used different systems lately, but we can expect them to want to establish control of possession, press high and create chances through the middle.
As such, England will want midfield options who are prepared to combat that defensively while being technically sound enough to exploit them going the other way.
Croatia created most of their chances in qualifying and recent friendlies through the middle, but that’s also where they’ve had most opportunities created against them.
A midfield three of Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham – the latter picked over Morgan Rogers – offers that blend of industriousness and guile better than any other combination, while Reece James and Nico O’Reilly are just as comfortable inverting from full-back to support in central areas as they are overlapping.
Scepticism about James’ fitness is warranted, especially in a tournament, but most would probably consider him England’s best all-round right-back, so ensuring he starts for their toughest group game makes sense.
On the left, Marcus Rashford is arguably a better option as a threat coming inside than Anthony Gordon, while at the back, the presence of John Stones should make attempts to beat Croatia’s press a little more reliable. Again, it will be important not to overload him on the fitness front, but his talents will be of more use against Croatia than, say, Panama.
David Segar – Rogers or Bellingham? Why Not Both?
A lot of the chatter about Tuchel’s selection headaches ahead of the tournament has been about whether he will select Morgan Rogers or Jude Bellingham as the 10. I’m here to tell him that there is a perfectly valid fence-sitting solution.
Rogers is coming off an outstanding season for Aston Villa, with 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, but Bellingham is Bellingham, and the fine folk of the Midlands need not argue about who is better. Both can be incorporated/crammed into the starting lineup.
While Rogers may not have the pace of Marcus Rashford or Anthony Gordon, he has plenty of experience of playing on the left of the attack – 43% of his Premier League minutes for Villa last season were from there – and his ability to cut inside and fire a shot at goal is arguably as good as Rashford’s.
He is also just a bit more precise and calm around the box, linking up superbly with Ollie Watkins at club level. He can therefore be trusted to find Harry Kane in dangerous areas, or indeed Watkins should he come on.
His movement should also open up space for Bellingham, and having a fresh Rashford and/or Gordon to come on could be a great weapon later in games. Some might have concerns about a lack of width down the left given Nico O’Reilly likes to drift inside, but Tuchel often prefers rotation and triangles out wide rather than just players bombing down the wings.
The rest of the team largely picks itself. Reece James feels like he has proven his fitness more than John Stones, so the Chelsea man starts at right-back while Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi are trusted in the middle of defence, despite rumours Stones will get the nod ahead of his City teammate.
Ollie Hopkins – Experience of Stones Crucial, Saka Needs To Get Healthy
For perhaps the first time at a major men’s international tournament, the England manager has selected a squad with one sole purpose: getting the very most out of England’s best player, Harry Kane.
The profile of the attacking options around him reflects that. Tuchel has picked wide forwards that are direct runners capable of stretching defences in behind, and his No. 10s can also run beyond Kane from central areas.
Among the wide players, Anthony Gordon should start for me. He impressed in England’s final warm-up game against Costa Rica, looking consistently dangerous with his runs in behind down the left flank.
In an ideal world, I’d start Bukayo Saka on the opposite side. However, I’m just not convinced he’s fully fit. Tuchel has acknowledged that the Arsenal man is playing through the pain of an Achilles issue, and for that reason his workload must be managed during the opening stages of the tournament.
England will need him at his sharpest when the knockout rounds arrive, so there’s a strong case for easing him into the competition.
In defence, the biggest decision comes at centre-back, where I would choose the experience of Stones ahead of Konsa.
This will be Stones’ third World Cup and he’s started every match England have played across their last four major tournaments. He’s repeatedly shown that he can cope with the physical and mental demands of a long international campaign.
If Konsa were to be selected alongside the other defenders in my team, every member of England’s defence would be making their World Cup debut. They are all excellent players and experienced professionals in their own right, but there is value in having someone who has already played the biggest stage of all.
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