How England should line-up at the World Cup after rogue 26-man squad is announced

Now that the England squad has been officially announced, it’s time to select a starting XI fit for World Cup glory.

A 26-man selection featuring some of the world’s best talents will represent the Three Lions on the world stage this summer.

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Head coach Thomas Tuchel has opted to name stars such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Reece James in his travelling squad.

However, he has also controversially omitted talents that include Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire, Morgan Gibbs-White and Phil Foden.

England have friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica before they begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17, live on talkSPORT.

With 26 days to go until then, fans up and down the country will begin to believe that they can end 60 long years of hurt.

But, before England potentially get their hands on the World Cup, there is the small matter of selecting the best possible starting XI.

talkSPORT’s Chief football anchor Adrian Durham and commentator Jim Proudfoot have put themselves in Tuchel’s shoes and picked what they believe should be the go-to team this summer.

Goalkeeper and defence

“I think in goal, it’s Jordan Pickford. I’m going to skip over that one, we’re both going with Jordan Pickford,” Durham explained on the latest episode of talkSPORT Daily.

“A back four, mine is Reece James at right-back, (Nico) O’Reilly at left-back, (Marc) Guehi and (Ezri) Konsa at centre-half.”

“Mine would be as well,” Proudfoot agreed. “The only rider to that would be, that I think John Stones’ tournament experience is absolutely valuable.

“And if they thought that they had the very best version of Stones, then you could make a case for him ahead of Ezri Konsa. But, I think that Ezri’s had a fantastic season. I’d have no worries as an England fan if Ezri started every game in the tournament.

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“I think that that’s got a good balance, that back four, because what he likes to do is keep one of his full-backs in and the other will push forward.

“James will be the one that will stay in and, by and large, Nico O’Reilly will either bomb down that left wing, or tuck in and come in alongside Elliot Anderson in the heart of midfield.

“So, there’s a good balance about it, if it’s James, Konsa or Stones, Guehi and O’Reilly. I’m sure it will be that, I can’t see that it will be anything else, really.”

Midfield

When listing a midfield three, Durham said: “(Elliot) Anderson, (Declan) Rice and for me, in the No.10, I’m going Morgan Rogers.”

“And I think that he will as well, I think Thomas Tuchel will,” Proudfoot replied. “And then of course, that then just prolongs the Jude Bellingham narrative, which is something that we’re going to be talking about an awful lot over the next seven or eight weeks.

“Whether it should be Rogers, whether it should be Bellingham and again, that straw poll of England fans, the vast majority will come down on the side of Jude Bellingham.

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“But, the one rider I would say is that it will be in Thomas Tuchel’s mind that he needs to pick the players to form the best team as opposed to picking the best eleven individual players.

“He will think that there’s a better balance about the team, he clearly does, when Rogers plays instead of Bellingham, so I would expect Rogers to start against Croatia.

“Anderson is an absolute shoe-in, and Declan is alongside him as well, so I think it will be Rogers, Anderson and Rice, but most will think it should be Anderson, Rice that little bit deeper, and Bellingham as a conventional No.10.”

Attack

“Kane is at No.9, (Bukayo) Saka on the right, I think (Marcus) Rashford,” Durham said. “I want to see Rashford on the left, I think Rashford could be a secret weapon for England at this World Cup.

“In the heat, when players are slowing the tempo down, he’s got pace that could absolutely trouble opponents.

“He’s confident after winning the title (with Barcelona) in Spain, and he’s free from the shackles of whatever was holding him back at Manchester United, so I want to see Rashford on the left.”

Proudfoot responded: “It’s an interesting one, and this is another decision that I think will have changed in Thomas Tuchel’s mind.

“Everything is very fluid, but I think (Anthony) Gordon was ahead of Rashford, probably, going into March. Now, it might slightly be the other way round.

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“But, another enduring theme over the next few weeks is going to be squad rotation and the use of players off the bench.

“This is something that Stuart [Pearce] has talked about, and did so extensively when we were in Qatar.

“With the difficult strength-sapping conditions, it is a squad game, you’re not just looking at eleven to go and win you a game, it’s your options off the bench.

“So, if you’re looking at those two left wingers, could it potentially be that 60 minutes of Gordon and then half an hour of Rashford’s pace when the game is more open might be a better way of doing it, rather than the other way round?

“I don’t know, but I think it’s a coin toss between the pair of them.

“Yes, I would expect, at the moment, that Rashford would be the man that would have the more influence in this World Cup campaign on that left-hand side for England.”

Don’t forget, talkSPORT will broadcast all 104 World Cup fixtures in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It’s set to be an action-packed summer of football, and one that could see England finally win their second world title.

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