Everything you need in one place. Fixtures with kick-off times and TV channels. The full squad. The group analysis. The prediction. This page updates throughout the tournament as results come in.
THE FIXTURES
England are in Florida for the pre-tournament camp before heading to Dallas for the opener.
THE SQUAD
Tuchel named his 26 on May 22 at Wembley, soundtracked by The Beatles. Foden and Palmer are not going. Maguire is not going. Trent Alexander-Arnold is not going. Rashford is in after eight goals and eight assists at Barcelona. Gordon goes as a Barcelona player having signed for £69.3m three days before the tournament starts. Rogers from Aston Villa is the most interesting call.
GK: Pickford (Everton), Henderson (Crystal Palace), Trafford (Man City) DEF: Reece James (Chelsea), Konsa (Aston Villa), Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Stones (Man City), Guehi (Newcastle), Burn (Newcastle), O’Reilly (Man City), Spence (Tottenham), Livramento (Newcastle) MID: Rice (Arsenal), Anderson (Nottm Forest), Mainoo (Man Utd), Henderson (Brentford), Rogers (Aston Villa), Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eze (Arsenal) FWD: Kane (Bayern Munich), Toney (Al-Ahli), Watkins (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Rashford (Barcelona), Gordon (Barcelona), Madueke (Chelsea)
THE GROUP
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
EnglandTuchel · Group favourites | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2 |
CroatiaDalic · Modric · Gvardiol fitness doubt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
GhanaQueiroz · Kudus the danger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 |
PanamaChristiansen · Strong defensively | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group L. England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama. England should qualify. The specific games matter.
Croatia, June 17
The most important game of the three. Modric is 40 years old and going to his fifth World Cup. He will still run games from midfield if Croatia get the ball. The bigger question is Gvardiol, who broke his leg late in the club season. Dalic built his entire defensive structure around him. If Gvardiol does not make June 17 Croatia’s shape is fundamentally compromised.
England beat Croatia in the 2018 group stage and then lost to them in the semi-final when Modric ran the game in extra time. Euro 2020 a Sterling goal settled it. Croatia away from their best, without Gvardiol anchoring the defence, is a different proposition from the team that beat England eight years ago.
Ghana, June 23
Kudus had one of his better seasons at West Ham this year and is the player England’s defenders will be most wary of. Gets into spaces quickly, creates from nothing. Semenyo from Bournemouth also in the squad. Partey in central midfield. Ghana are not going to roll over and the six-goal friendly win in 2015 should not inform expectations too heavily.
Panama, June 27
Panama finished top of their CONCACAF qualifying group without conceding. England beat them 6-1 in 2018 and should beat them again. Christiansen builds teams that are hard to play against and the scoreline flatters what it will actually feel like.
HOW ENGLAND PLAY
Tuchel moves between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3. Rice anchors everything. Bellingham operates as the ten or in a free role between the lines. Saka on the right. Kane leads the line.
Foden and Palmer do not press the way Tuchel needs his wide players to press. That is the whole explanation. The manager watched them in March against Uruguay and Japan and drew his conclusions. Rogers and Rashford are in because they spent their seasons at Villa and Barcelona doing the work Tuchel requires.
Every selection points in the same direction. Three things to watch going in: Saka’s Achilles, which Arsenal managed carefully through the last two months of the season. Bellingham’s form, which fluctuated at Real Madrid after January. Timber’s groin, which kept him out from March and only recovered in time for Budapest.
KEY PLAYERS
Harry Kane – 95 caps, 68 goals. Third World Cup. He has never scored in a World Cup knockout game that England lost. He is 32 and the window is narrowing.
Jude Bellingham – The most important player in the squad. England’s results follow his form. At his best he is one of the three best players in the world. The biggest stage tends to produce his best.
Bukayo Saka – Led Arsenal to the Premier League title and the Champions League final this season. The Achilles has been managed. Fully fit Saka in Dallas on June 17 makes England a different team.
Declan Rice – The foundation everything is built on. Rice’s ability to break up play and start attacks from deep is what allows Bellingham the freedom to roam. When Rice plays well England’s shape holds.
Marcus Rashford – Goes to the World Cup in the best form of his career. Tuchel’s impact option who could win a knockout game from the bench in twenty minutes.
THE TV GUIDE
ITV and BBC split coverage of England’s group games. ITV has Croatia and Panama. BBC has Ghana. Both broadcasters cover knockout rounds alternately. Stream via ITVX and BBC iPlayer in the UK, both free. For options outside the UK and the full World Cup broadcast guide, the page on football streaming sites covers every platform.
THE PREDICTION
Croatia, then Ghana, then Panama. England should come through all three with at least six points. The group is fine.
What is not fine is what comes after. Spain are in Group H. France are in Group I. Brazil in Group C. Win the group and England’s round of 32 opponent is a third-place side from a different group, which is manageable. Get to the quarter-finals and one of Spain, France or Brazil is waiting. Tuchel cannot control the bracket and the bracket is unkind.
Semi-finals if the draw stays away from Spain and France. Quarter-finals if it does not. Probably quarter-finals.