Every member of England’s World Cup squad ranked from Henderson to…

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16 July 2026

England’s

World Cup

has ended in a familiar feeling of crushing disappointment as Thomas Tuchel comes in for a battering, we’ve ranked every member of the 26-man squad.

England

succumbed to Lionel Messi’s Argentina, their

dream died for another four years which gives us all an opportunity to tell Tuchel where exactly he went wrong with his squad selection.

Here’s his 26-man team ranked from the worst to the best.

An absolute waste of a pick. If Henderson is indispensable in the dressing room, take him as an extra coach and not one of the 26 valuable spots.

So many players could have had a more significant influence on the pitch and the most memorable thing Henderson did this tournament was break his wrist after falling over an advertising board. What an unc.

Good job Tuchel took Chalobah and not Trent Alexander-Arnold as

really benefited from the *checks notes* zero minutes Chalobah played.

The pre-tournament injury to Tino Livramento was the perfect chance for Tuchel to call up Alexander-Arnold, who may well be the best English passer in the game and yet he went for a player he did not even use. Pointless.

Thankfully

were never in a situation where their midfield was getting overrun and some fresh legs would have really helped so Mainoo was not needed.

Wait, what’s that? That’s exactly how

went out? Oh yes that’s right. Good job the team didn’t have a young energetic midfielder just sitting on the bench then.

Back-up goalies who did not feature.

After putting in a decent performance against Panama, Quansah decided to go rogue and clatter into Mexico’s Jesus Gallardo.

The more you watch it, the more bizarre the challenge looks. For a start, Gallardo is well over by the touchline and there is just one Mexico player for him to find with a pass…and that same player is covered by two

shirts.

Also, Quansah would easily get to the ball if he just stays on his feet and instead he goes flying over the top of it, misses it by a mile and buries his studs into Gallardo’s shin. Stupid.

Ivan Toney was supposedly brought for his penalty ability and yet

never got to a shoot-out, making his presence feel all rather pointless.

He should have been brought on against Ghana and finally was against Argentina at a time when the game was all but lost.

Played just six minutes against Panama. The truth is that

were never convincing enough to give

Harry Kane

a rest.

Rice looked absolutely knackered even before he picked up an illness that had him bed-bound for three days.

He has played an awful lot of football and looks exactly like someone who has played an awful lot of football.

Rice was largely ineffective and nowhere near the level of his performances for

Arsenal

towards the start of the season. He could do with a long break but he is a little over 30 days before the new Premier League season gets underway.

Was an absolute black hole on England’s right and the place where attacks go to die.

His 45 minutes against Norway were a frustrating watch as he wasted opportunity after opportunity and he was hooked at half time.

Largely absent, Eze only started one game and did not make much of an impact in that one.

He leaves the tournament with zero goals and zero assists.

Konsa will come to symbolise the moment it all went wrong for

as Tuchel’s decision to bring him on and switch to a back five against Argentina was the beginning of the end.

It resulted in what is naturally a centre-back having to take long throws and try to get crosses in during the dying moments of a match.

But the truth is that he had not been much cop as a centre-back for much of the tournament.

Who could have foreseen that an injury-prone player would pick up an injury in a tournament that requires you to play every couple of days?

James’ injury problems left

exposed against Mexico and his replacement duly got himself sent off.

The Chelsea man returned for the semi-final but picked up another injury at a time when

needed him.

Rashford looked far more effective coming off the bench and scored his only goal in an 18-minute cameo against Croatia.

Was not selected for the crucial games and played just one minute against Argentina.

Consigned to meme status, Burn’s presence in the

was confined to late appearances when

were attempting to hold onto a lead. It worked against Mexico.

He was asked to repeat the trick against Argentina but could not help a five-man defence keep Messi and co. out.

Bellingham’s performances meant Rogers was never likely to get his preferred spot in the team but he looked good against Argentina from his unnatural right side.

Tuchel said it was a gut feeling to pick him there and the German coach may wish he had tested it earlier given how the right wing looked England’s weakest area.

Saka got three assists and yet it still felt like something of an underwhelming tournament for him.

Just one of those assists came in the knockouts and he was strangely absent against Argentina.

There are lingering fitness questions around him and he may now take the time to properly resolve them.

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Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe s**t. Gordon’s

performances were a real yin and yang.

He was poor against Costa Rica and Ghana but excellent in a 29-minute cameo against DR Congo. He was very good against Norway and scored England’s goal against Argentina.

A decent showing from the new

Barcelona

man.

Started the opening game but was then strangely absent for the next two and only returned with a minute against DR Congo.

When he was on the pitch, he looked like England’s most assured defender but was at fault for the Lautaro Martinez winner as he did not track him.

The inclusion of Spence saw a lot of raised eyebrows but the Tottenham man justified his place in the team.

His best game actually came against Argentina despite the scoreline with an excellent tackle inside his own box being the most memorable highlight.

A strong showing in O’Reilly’s tournament debut. He was England’s best left-back throughout the

, which makes Tuchel’s decision to drop him for the semi-final all the more strange.

O’Reilly has the pace needed to give

an outlet, especially when playing a back five, but when he did come on it was as a midfielder.

Had a slightly dodgy game against Norway but other than that, was reliable between the sticks for

again.

Critics may say he could have done more with Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser but when

are inviting long shot after long shot, one was bound to get past Pickford eventually.

Overall, no one will blame the keeper for another

exit.

The pick of England’s centre backs. Having played just three minutes of England’s opener against Croatia, Guehi did not miss a minute for the rest of the tournament and was consistently very good.

There was little he could do to stop Argentina with England’s tactics inviting so much pressure.

With Rice struggling,

relied a lot on Anderson and he delivered.

He was in the top three

players for decisive contributions per 90, tackles per 90, interceptions per 90 and recoveries per 90 and only

played more outfield minutes than Anderson.

He’s only 23 and the £120m City paid for him may prove to be well worth it.

He scored six goals, the joint record for an Englishman at a

, but could there still be an argument he did not perform when it really mattered?

His last goal of the tournament came in the 60th minute against Mexico via the penalty spot and he was anonymous against Norway and Argentina.

Still, clearly England’s second-best player of the tournament as a whole.

Even without lifting the trophy, it was a generational performance from Bellingham, who is the man for the big occasion time and time again.

Pre-tournament suggestions that Rogers should start over him seem ludicrous now as he delivered when his country needed him against Norway, Mexico and Panama.

He was less effective against Argentina, not helped by Tuchel putting him out wide when

went ahead, but overall, he was the leader and star player of the team.

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Kane defends Bellingham: ‘It’s easy to try and create this division’

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Jude Bellingham clarifies Lionel Messi confrontation in England’s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina

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Gutted Jude Bellingham breaks silence after England’s World Cup heartbreak against Argentina: ‘I wish I could give more’

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