With a two-year gap before the 2026 World Cup gets under way, England have a chance to look at a new crop of players
Kyle Walker may have just bid farewell to the England fans(Image credit: Getty Images)
Euro 2024 is over, in case you hadn’t noticed. As England set about picking up the pieces, they will turn their attention to what they want their squad to look like at the 2026 World Cup.
That means there are a few players who were included in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, or who have previously been involved for the England gaffer, who may now be moved out of the international setup to make way for a new class of talents who so far have struggled to get much of a look in.
Here’s ten of those players who we think we may well have seen the last of in an England shirt.
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1. Kyle Walker
Kyle Walker is one of seven players who played in both of England's Euros finals (Image credit: Getty Images)
An obvious place to start even before a sub-par showing in the final, being that he’s the oldest player in the squad and will be 36 by the time the next World Cup rolls around.
For all their issues at left-back, England have plenty of options on the right. Trent Alexander-Arnold has still never been given the chance to make it his own, and Rico Lewis looks like a potential successor to Walker for both club and country… and that’s to say nothing of Reece James, Tino Livramento or Aaron Wan-Bissaka (who is still eligible to play for England).
The next two years give the England manager – whoever it may be – the chance to get someone different bedded in in time for the World Cup. And yes, there was another option omitted from that list…
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2. Kieran Trippier
Kieran Trippier has been dependable for England (Image credit: Getty Images)
Less than four months Walker’s junior, it’s possible we’ll see more of Trippier if England need another makeshift left-back.
But for qualifying games, we imagine they’d be relatively happy giving Ben Chilwell a chance to recover some form or look at Lewis Hall, Samuel Iling-Junior or (if need be, but really he’s a centre-back for us) Levi Colwill, should Luke Shaw be unavailable again.
Both Trippier and Walker have provided some wonderful moments for England, but time marches on.
3. Lewis Dunk
Lewis Dunk didn't appear at Euro 2024
Not likely to get any better at 32 years old, and is already firmly fourth, fifth or sixth choice to play at centre-back.
Would you bother taking Dunk to future camps, or would you hand that spot to someone like Colwill, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah or (more experienced, but still with just a handful of caps) Fikayo Tomori to give them the opportunity to prove themselves instead?
Exactly.
4. Harry Maguire
One of the ten we're less sure about, Harry Maguire may still have something to offer (Image credit: Alamy)
We’re now into the players who didn’t make the cut for the Euros for various reasons, but the same logic applies, really.
Maguire has been magnificent at times for England, and they particularly missed his threat from set pieces out at Euro 2024…how they would have wished to have had him on the end of that injury time chance against Spain in the final.
He’s still only 31, so it’s not inconceivable he might work his way back in, especially if he remains solid for Manchester United - but there’s a good crop of promising centre-backs coming through who could gain a lot more.
5 and 6. Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips
It's hard to see Jordan Henderson getting back in for England
Henderson is 34 years old, and even chief apologist Southgate couldn’t find a place for him this summer despite looking unsure of how exactly to replace him in midfield at the start of the tournament.
England struggled to get to grips without Henderson or Kalvin Phillips water-carrying abilities in the early going of the Euros: old habits can be hard to break.
But Kobbie Mainoo eventually ensured the former Liverpool skipper and out-of-form and unwanted Manchester City midfielder ultimately weren't really missed, while Adam Wharton is only just getting going and Curtis Jones remains uncapped.
7 and 8. Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish
Raheem Sterling now has to compete with a huge crop of younger wingers (Image credit: Alamy)
Two enigmatic players, one of whom has had an excellent career at the top level and was particularly superb for England at more than one major tournaments, and another who has never quite been able to cement his place.
But as with the right-backs, they are blessed with so many talented, younger wingers that many of them aren’t even getting in the squad.
England are in a position where Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze are struggling to get starts, while Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish were left at home. Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is making some noises, too, while Jaden Philogene and Morgan Rogers could both get chances to shine for Aston Villa.
29-year-old Sterling and 28-year-old Grealish need to show a lot more for Chelsea and Manchester City to cut through all that.
9. Marcus Rashford?
Could Marcus Rashford re-reinvent himself at centre-forward? (Image credit: Getty Images)
Hmmm. Depends, doesn’t it? He’s got the same issue on the wings as Sterling, but is several years younger – still just 26 – and it feels like if he can get back on track for Manchester United, he could be an important player again.
Rashford’s best chance of restoration, for us, would be as a centre-forward: he’s the only one of that massive crop of wingers who can perform the role, and England don’t have a tonne of young strikers you can point to displace Kane.
The issue there is whether he might need a bit of time playing centrally for United to make that claim.
10. Callum Wilson
Callum Wilson has nine England caps to his name
32 years old and left out of the squad for the Euros.
Despite that paucity of centre-forward options in the younger ranks, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins both showed enough from the bench this summer to suggest they deserve the chance to audition for Kane’s role first.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
