WORLD CUP 2026 · GROUP LEUROPE

England

At the first 48-team World Cup, hosted across USA, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. Drawn in Group L with Croatia, Panama, Ghana.

#4
FIFA rank
L
Group
3
Group fixtures
22
PL stars
THE GROUP

England vs the rest of Group L

FIFA ranks at draw time. Top two from the group advance directly to the Round of 32; the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups also progress.

ONSIDE INTELLIGENCE · POWERED BY THE ENGINE
AI-MODELLED

England's tournament path — the fantasy angle

QUALIFY %
79%
to reach R32
GROUP xP
7
across 3 games
EXPECTED FINISH
#1 in group
WC FANTASY CAPTAIN(C)
Marcus Rashford
Man Utd
Highest projected impact in this squad
LIKELY SCORERGOAL
Marcus Rashford
Man Utd
Top attacking PL contributor
DIFFERENTIALDIFF
Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa
Lower-owned, upside play
TOP 3 CONTRIBUTORS · PROJECTED PTS/90
1
Marcus Rashford
6.4
2
Bukayo Saka
6.4
3
Eberechi Eze
5.6
VERDICTStrong qualification probability (~79%). Build around Marcus Rashford for World Cup Fantasy.
SHARE ENGLAND'S TOURNAMENT
SHAREXRedditWhatsApp
FIXTURE DIFFICULTY HEATMAP
CELL COLOUR = RANK DELTA

England's 3 group matches at a glance

Difficulty by pre-tournament FIFA rank delta. Acid means England is the favourite; amber is a coin-toss; red means the underdog. Switches to actual-result colour once each match is played.

MD1H
Croatia
FIFA #11
+7 rank delta
Wed 17 Jun
MD2H
Ghana
FIFA #74
+70 rank delta
Tue 23 Jun
MD3A
Panama
FIFA #33
+29 rank delta
Sat 27 Jun
3
Easy
0
Toss
0
Hard

England is FIFA #4. Group avg rank is #31 27 places stronger than the group mean.

OFFICIAL SQUAD · 26 PLAYERS

England's tournament 26

Goalkeepers3
Jordan Pickford
Everton
32
Dean Henderson
Crystal Palace
29
James Trafford
Man City
23
Defenders9
John Stones
Man City
32
Dan Burn
Newcastle
34
Ezri Konsa
Aston Villa
28
Reece James
Chelsea
26
Djed Spence
Spurs
25
Marc Guéhi
Man City
25
Valentino Livramento
Newcastle
23
Jarell Quansah
23
Nico O'Reilly
Man City
21
Midfielders8
Jordan Henderson
Brentford
35
Eberechi Eze
Arsenal
27
Anthony Gordon
Newcastle
25
Declan Rice
Arsenal
27
Morgan Rogers
Aston Villa
23
Elliot Anderson
Nott'm Forest
23
Jude Bellingham
22
Kobbie Mainoo
Man Utd
21
Other6
Marcus Rashford
Man Utd
28
Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa
30
Ivan Toney
30
Harry Kane
32
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal
24
Noni Madueke
Arsenal
24

Source: football-data.org (FIFA registered squad). Acid dot · player's Premier League club. Updated daily.

FIXTURES

England's group-stage matches

MDDateUTCUKOpponent
1Wed 17 Jun20:0021:00
2Tue 23 Jun20:0021:00
3Sat 27 Jun21:0022:00
THE PL × WC FUNNEL

22 Premier League players representing England

Track these names — their tournament minutes shape your FPL 2026/27 GW1 captaincy shortlist. 4 from Arsenal alone.

Arsenal
4
Eberechi Eze
Declan Rice
Noni Madueke
Bukayo Saka
Man City
4
James Trafford
Marc Guéhi
Nico O'Reilly
John Stones
Aston Villa
3
Ezri Konsa
Morgan Rogers
Ollie Watkins
Newcastle
3
Dan Burn
Tino Livramento
Anthony Gordon
Man Utd
2
Kobbie Mainoo
Marcus Rashford
Brentford
1
Jordan Henderson
Chelsea
1
Reece James
Crystal Palace
1
Dean Henderson
Everton
1
Jordan Pickford
Nott'm Forest
1
Elliot Anderson
Spurs
1
Djed Spence

Source: Premier League official article (29 May 2026). ~ marks players inferred from secondary reporting where the squad wasn't formally announced.

FPL ANGLE

Why England's tournament matters for FPL 2026/27

England's 22 PL players will play 3 group matches before the FPL deadline locks. Watch for minutes, form, and tactical fit at international level — the strongest available signal before pre-season friendlies start.

WORLD CUP FANTASY · ENGLAND

Pick England stars in FIFA World Cup Fantasy

Use the Onside captain / differential / value picks to assemble a England-heavy XI, then build it in the official FIFA game. In FIFA Fantasy, open the player list and filter by country = England to surface every eligible name.

Onside is not affiliated with FIFA. We publish picks; you play them in the official game.

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