ENGLAND'S 2026 SQUAD COMPARED WITH 2021 FOURFOURTWO PREDICTION

FourFourTwo produced a prediction in 2021 of the England squad for the 2026 World Cup, a forecast now being revisited after the tournament concluded. England reached the semi-finals under Thomas Tuchel, losing 2-1 to Argentina after leading the match until the 85th minute. The forecast was made while Gareth Southgate was manager, shortly after England's defeat to Italy in the delayed Euro 2020 final. Since then, England has also exited the 2022 World Cup at the quarter-final stage and lost the Euro 2024 final.

At the time of the prediction, Kalvin Phillips was regarded as one of England's most important players. There were also public calls for Jack Grealish, then playing for Aston Villa, to be given more playing time. Cole Palmer had not yet made his professional debut at the time. FourFourTwo's predicted squad included goalkeeper Dean Henderson, picked ahead of Jordan Pickford on the basis that Pickford would be 32 years old by the 2026 World Cup. The forecast also named defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben White, Marc Guehi and Ryan Sessegnon.

The comparison illustrates how far a national squad can change over a five-year period. England also changed manager during that time, moving from Southgate to Tuchel. Palmer, who had not made his professional debut in 2021, and Phillips, regarded as a key player at that time, illustrate how individual fortunes shifted across the period. England's 2026 campaign ultimately ended with the semi-final defeat to Argentina.