Thomas Tuchel leads England as manager for the 2026 World Cup, which begins for England on June 17 against Croatia in Dallas [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Despite England’s historic 1966 title, Tuchel does not see his squad as top favorites this tournament. "We're not the top favourites. We can't be, because we haven't won it for so, so many years," he said, citing other teams with more recent success [2, 3, 7, 4].

Tuchel emphasized the depth and competitiveness within his squad. He stated there are "14 or 15 potential starters" and that Jude Bellingham must earn his place among them. "Yes, he has. He knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters," Tuchel explained. "These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them" [1, 8, 9, 10, 5].

Bellingham appeared in four of eight World Cup qualifying matches, while Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers played in all eight [1, 8, 9, 10, 5]. Tuchel praised Bellingham's recent form after injury, saying he is in a "sweet spot" and eager to play. In a June 6 warm-up win against New Zealand in Tampa, Harry Kane scored the only goal and Bellingham captained the side during the second half [1, 9, 10, 5].

In a June 10 friendly at Orlando, England beat Costa Rica 3-0 with goals from Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon, and Ollie Watkins. Tuchel used Bellingham as a No. 10 midfielder and briefly played him as a No. 9, praising his performance in those roles [11, 12]. Declan Rice was named England’s vice-captain for the World Cup [1, 9, 10, 5].

Tuchel highlighted the squad's flexibility and strength in depth, noting multiple players can start or come off the bench. After the Florida training camp, he gave players a day and a half off before moving the team to their official World Cup base in Kansas City. "The players can almost do what they want. For example, they can’t take a flight. We said no flights because hopefully we have a lot of flights through the tournament. No one has asked for a flight. They are adults. They are determined," Tuchel said [1, 9, 10, 12, 5, 6].

England faces Croatia next Wednesday, June 17, in their opening match of the tournament in Dallas [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].