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.
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5 days ago David SegarHowever, 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 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.
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