The 2026 World Cup is less than five months away, and competition for places in the England squad is heating up.
Expectations around the Three Lions are sky-high once again having reached at least the semi-finals in three of the last four major tournaments — and coming agonisingly close to doing so again at the last World Cup.
What’s more, England were the dominant force in qualifying, winning all eight of their matches with 22 goals scored and none conceded.
The likes of Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jordan Pickford will be key for Thomas Tuchel. However, England can take a maximum of 26 players with them to North America, and each of those slots could prove vital in their own way.
Many of the inclusions are obvious, but others will be based on their form between now and the end of the season. With that in mind, here are six outsiders playing their way into contention right now.
1. Kobbie Mainoo
Kobbie Mainoo came into the England line-up partway through Euro 2024 to great effect, adding some much-needed composure and stability in possession. It was hoped he’d kick on from there, but his situation at Manchester United deteriorated rapidly under Ruben Amorim.
However, Amorim is no longer at Old Trafford, replaced on an interim basis by Michael Carrick. The former Manchester United midfield anchor has revitalised his younger positional companion.
Mainoo — a 10-time international — has started both games under Carrick so far as United have beaten Manchester City and Arsenal, providing the assist for Matheus Cunha’s winning goal in the latter. The 20-year-old was particularly impressive against Man City, completing 32 of his 35 passes, while halting the progress of Pep Guardiola’s side with three tackles, two clearances, two interceptions, one block and one recovery.
Declan Rice will fill the box-to-box role for Tuchel, while any one of Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham or Phil Foden will fill attacking duties. Elliot Anderson is expected to dictate things from a deeper position, but he could face competition from Mainoo, who would also be primed to replace the Nottingham Forest man in case of injury or suspension.
2. James Garner
According to our Squawka Score, James Garner is the third-highest-performing central midfielder in the Premier League this season at 73%, while he’s second only to Declan Rice (74%) among English midfielders.
Garner put in an absolute masterclass in Everton’s 1-0 win away at Aston Villa recently, under the watchful eye of Tuchel. The 24-year-old made a match-high seven tackles and won more duels (9) than any other player as he frustrated Unai Emery’s title challengers, while mopping up possession with 14 recoveries and completing 44 of 50 passes.
That’s been the story of Garner’s season, with the former Man Utd man first among Everton players for passes completed (877), final third passes completed (276), tackles (64) and interceptions (32), and second for chances created (27).
One of the biggest things in Garner’s favour is also that he has covered at full-back to a very high standard this season, offering great versatility to a major tournament squad. He hasn’t been capped at senior level yet, but Garner is doing his level best to force his way into the reckoning.
3. Trevoh Chalobah
Trevoh Chalobah’s loan at Crystal Palace was cut short midway through last season to help cover for injuries at Chelsea, and he’s never looked back.
The 26-year-old has been almost ever-present at the heart of the Blues’ backline ever since, including all but one of their Premier League matches this season.
Chalobah’s Squawka Score of 66% is sixth among Premier League centre-backs and second only to Marc Guehi (69%) among English centre-backs. The former Ipswich Town man has a ground duel success rate of 65.79% and is first among Chelsea players for clearances (128) and aerial duels won (47).
Centre-back is about as close to a problem position as England can get right now, but in Chalobah, England have one performing at a high level at one of the Premier League’s strongest sides. It’s crazy to think he only picked up his first and only cap to date in the summer of 2025.
4. Dominic Calvert-Lewin
It’s been a long time since Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the prime candidate to back up Harry Kane, and few could have expected him to resume that role any time soon.
But then DCL burst into life at the end of November and is now on a run of eight goals and an assist in his last 10 Premier League appearances, including six straight games on the score sheet across November and December.
Calvert-Lewin has fired himself into fourth-place in the Premier League Golden Boot race, but that hasn’t come at the cost of his all-round contribution to Leeds’ play, with the 28-year-old second at Elland Road for aerial duels won (62) and averaging 0.83 chances created per 90 minutes.
DCL is a completely different profile to Kane and could be the perfect alternative to the Bayern Munich man from the bench.
5. Harvey Barnes
There has actually been loose talk of Harvey Barnes getting a Scotland call-up, so far had he fallen from England contention. But like Calvert-Lewin, the Newcastle man has burst into life this season.
Barnes is the Magpies’ top scorer this season across all competitions with 12 goals, with two assists on the board for good measure. That includes five goals in his last six appearances as Barnes has helped the Magpies to wins over the likes of PSV, Leeds and Bournemouth — the latter in the FA Cup.
England are stacked in wide areas with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke and Jarrod Bowen. However, Barnes is posting excellent numbers and providing big moments in key games for Newcastle. He’ll at least fancy his chances at picking up his first cap since 2020 in upcoming friendlies.
6. Lewis Hall
Over the last few years, left-back has gone from being England’s biggest problem position to being one of real strength. Thanks to injuries, Lewis Hall is yet to truly break into the national team picture and finds himself behind Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nico O’Reilly in the pecking order — all three players 21 or younger.
However, Hall has played Newcastle’s last 13 Premier League matches — starting 11 of them — as well as their last four in the Champions League, with a further three outings in domestic cups.
During that time, Hall has averaged a team-high 2.09 completed take-ons per 90 minutes, alongside 2.49 tackles (2nd) and 1.28 interceptions (3rd).
Hall at least deserves a chance in pre-tournament friendlies, while he’ll fancy his chances of pouncing on any mistakes or injuries from Lewis-Skelly and O’Reilly.
| Player | England squad odds (Bet365) |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 2/1 |
| James Garner | 3/1 |
| Trevoh Chalobah | 7/4 |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | 4/1 |
| Harvey Barnes | 6/1 |
| Lewis Hall | 11/8 |
Honourable mentions: Danny Welbeck, Jack Butland, Alex Scott, Fikayo Tomori, Hayden Hackney, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Tammy Abraham, Mateus Mane, Jarell Quansah.