England’s 2026 World Cup

It’s always dangerous to react so soon after an event. Your mind is racing with fresh emotions and can often be distorted by the disappointment; it would be wiser to sit and reflect for a few days or a week to form reasoned thought. So, despite all of that, here we go.

Oasis have soundtracked this years tournament with memorable renditions of Wonderwall, yet England’s performance leaves us once again wondering if we will ever see them lift another trophy. The consensus is ‘Definitely, Maybe’?

England have bowed out of the 2026 World Cup after a late Lautaro Martinez header sealed a 1-2 defeat to Argentina. This fixture is engulfed in history both on and off the pitch and it felt as though the Argentinian team lent into that a lot more than the English. You could see the intensity and passion from as early as the national anthems, for the first time in this tournament a national anthem was whistled and booed with the Argentina fans drowning out the England fans and players. Once the Argentinian anthem started it was like a battle cry, the pure aggression in the eyes of the players set a tone that carried into the game.

The first half was barely a football match. For the first time since 1966 there wasn’t a shot of any description until the 33rd minute when John Stones headed wide and there wasn’t a shot on target at all in the first half. Tackle after tackle, foul after foul and so much happening off the ball led to a gripping throwback game. The referee Ismail Elfath did his best to keep a lid on the boiling pot, however his relaxed nature to late challenges did contribute to the stop start nature of the game. Simeone made 5 fouls in the first half alone yet received nothing other than a stern word.

The main talking point here is how England approached the 30 minutes after scoring their opening goal. The surprising part is how much of a contrast it was to the rest of the tournament, it’s true that the players must take responsibility on the pitch and it’s clear that once they scored fear took over and the instant retreat towards the England box was concerning. Tuchel, despite his post-match comments saying that the plan didn’t change made it obvious to the players with his substitutions that he was also spooked. Against Croatia in the first match of the tournament, England were ahead going into the final hydration break and Tuchel decided to send on Rashford and Rogers, a definitive message to his team and the opposition that they were here to dominate, attack and win the game. In contrast, in this game he did the opposite, sending on O’Reilly and Burn for James and Rice and going to 5-4-1. This was the moment for Tuchel to give the country a lift, show the teams personality and intent to go and win, instead it was conservative, negative and made through fear to lose, not a desire to win.

Tuchel will learn from this. Let’s not forget this is his first international tournament as a manager and this World Cup has once again captured the spirit and imagination of the nation. The Croatia, Mexico and Norway games gave the country a lift, yet once again we find England going out to a team on their level. At some point if England are to get over the line in a major tournament, they need to find a way to win these 50/50 games and the way to do it is through positivity, attacking football and a self-belief that they are the better team.

This may seem a little bit odd, but the way to start this is by beating France in the 3rd place play off. It may seem like a pointless game that neither team wants, but if they can win it, it will bode well for future beliefs and set a tone that no matter the circumstances England are positive about winning football matches.

In 2 years, England are co hosting the Euro’s. It’s time to start building the foundations for what could once again be a historic tournament. Young, hungry and mentally strong players must be integrated into the squad, the likes of Max Dowman, Rio Ngumoha and Levi Colwill are the future stars of this team. Much like Spain have done, the system must be built to allow these talents to flourish. Let’s not take for granted this is a great era for English football, we must enjoy it and push our team to get over the line.