My England XI for Euro 2028 – and the four players who won’t make it ...Middle East

Unlike most of the population this morning, the Football Association has no doubts about Thomas Tuchel.

Having backed him before the World Cup, it views England reaching the semi-finals as an achievement so Tuchel is safe.

He will not trigger the performance clauses that would have seen him ejected before a home Euros.

Having sat with FA chief executive Mark Bullingham in Kansas City a month ago, the strength of his conviction when it came to Tuchel was striking.

But clearly, things have to change if England are going to capitalise on home advantage in two years’ time.

Integrating new blood, injecting more creativity and settling on a defence that can keep a clean sheet in big games are priorities.

This is how England should line up at Euro 2028.

James Trafford – goalkeeper

James Trafford did not play a single minute at this World Cup (Photo: Getty)

Jordan Pickford was magnificent in the Azteca as he produced an all-timer against Mexico and last night he made a stunning save from Nico Gonzalez as Argentina pressed.

But over the course of the tournament? There were moments of doubt for a man who has been so peerless previously, especially when England played out from the back nervously in the early stages.

Trafford needs regular football but if he gets it, expect him to challenge Pickford.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – right-back

Here is the measure of Tuchel. Will he admit that he got this call all wrong?

Not picking Alexander-Arnold at all felt vindicative, to be brutally honest. He picked two injury-prone right-backs, with predictable results, and then called up Trevoh Chalobah – who is a fraction of the player Alexander-Arnold is.

Bring him back and finally utilise one of the brightest attacking full-backs in the world – or face a similar full-back muddle in two years time.

Levi Colwill – right-back

England’s centre-back production line has ground to a halt recently but there is hope that Colwill – under the tutelage of Xabi Alonso at a potentially more stable Chelsea – can develop into a bona fide international defender.

He certainly has the talent but it is a question of getting a run of games. Fingers crossed, because England need someone to emerge from the mediocrity.

Marc Guehi – centre-back

This was the tournament where Father Time caught up on John Stones. His lack of minutes in domestic football were a problem and that put the spotlight on Guehi, now undoubtedly England’s first choice centre-back.

Was it a complete success? Not entirely. England were porous at times and eventually unpicked by Argentina. Guehi is good enough but would benefit from a regular defensive partner in the next tournament cycle.

Lewis Hall – left-back

Lewis Hall was a surprise absentee from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad (Photo: Getty)

A shade unfortunate to be left out of this World Cup, the Newcastle United defender was a curious omission given his ability going forward.

Nico O’Reilly is an outstanding talent and his battle with Hall over the next two years will be a fascinating watch.

Declan Rice – midfield

Rice might be vulnerable, with the likes of Lewis Miley, Adam Wharton, Alex Scott and the underutilised Kobbie Mainoo snapping at his heels.

This was not a tournament where he appeared at his best – any wonder, given Arsenal’s marathon campaign – but it was also instructive that when he was consigned to his sickbed England’s control seemed to wane.

England need to find midfield solutions in the next few years because too often the crucial games seem to run away from them.

Elliot Anderson – midfield

Bowed out as part of a midfield overrun by Argentina but Anderson will come again.

His £130m move to Manchester City was a fair reflection of a player who can play deep or more advanced, and will be crucial to England’s mission of finally dictating a big game.

Rio Ngumoha – left wing

Tuchel’s squad was weirdly conservative, jettisoning Cole Palmer and Phil Foden in favour of good tourists and guys who could play in his system. But there was some sense in picking on form, and both had struggled during the season.

Ngumoha, by contrast, seemed to be peaking at the right time and his bright performances in the pre-tournament friendlies must have given Tuchel food for thought.

He is a special talent and 2028 might be just the right time for the Liverpool winger.

Jude Bellingham – No 10

Jude Bellingham has truly cemented his status as a world-class talent (Photo: Getty)

If there is a reason for optimism on this gloomy morning, it is that Bellingham – such a force this summer – probably has another two World Cups in him.

er boy for English football for the foreseeable future, he has made his critics look foolish during a tournament where he stepped up to the mark.

Build a team around him. It is the only way England end those years of pain.

Max Dowman – right wing

So prodigiously talented that England have to find a way to bring in a player who has almost limitless potential.

Dowman will be 18 by the time the next Euros rolls around and if his Arsenal career continues on its trajectory he will be neck and neck with Bukayo Saka, whose fragility is a problem.

We needed the X factor – Dowman has it.

Harry Kane – striker

And here is the problem. Who else is there out there?

Kane was superb in the early rounds but anonymous against both Norway and Argentina (where he finished without a single touch in the opposition box). That was not entirely his fault but does highlight the folly of having so few alternatives.

Tuchel clearly didn’t fancy Ollie Watkins – who got six minutes against Panama – and Ivan Toney was picked solely for a penalty shootout and a desperation battering ram.

JJ Gabriel is the most fancied young English striker out there but Euro 2028 is likely to come too early for the Manchester United teenager. So it is one last dance for Kane on home soil.

The players left out

This was one tournament too many for Stones, whose race may well be run at the very top level.

Tuchel loves Reece James but he can only go to future tournaments as part of a right-back group – you simply can’t rely on him as a first choice full-back.

Anthony Gordon was great in the bigger games after being anonymous early in the tournament but England have to move away from willing runners and rapid counter-attacks to a team that controls games.

Comment: Thomas Tuchel deserves to be sacked for his cowardice Explained: The images that show why Jude Bellingham slapped Argentina’s Valentin Barco

Dowman and Ngumoha – if they progress as we hope – can be the players to get us to that point. The Noni Madueke experiment, I’m afraid, is over. He is just not good enough at the level.

And Pickford? The quickest way to draw heat around England is to doubt him but I think questions will be asked. I’d never write him off but goalkeepers can go on too long in an England shirt and he will be under scrutiny in the next cycle.

England desperately need an alternative to Kane in the big games but I worry that none is emerging. Will we regret allowing Folarin Balogun to slip through our fingers?

4-2-3-1: Trafford, Alexander-Arnold, Colwill, Guehi, Hall, Rice, Anderson, Dowman, Bellingham, Ngumoha, Kane

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