In 2021, I Predicted England's 2026 World Cup Squad...

TL;DR

A YouTuber reviews his 5-year-old England 2026 World Cup squad prediction, scoring roughly 4-5/10 with big hits on Kane, Rice, and Bellingham but misses on Sancho, Sterling, and backups.

Key Points

• 1.The prediction was made in January 2021 amid very different context. Eric Dier was in England's latest starting XI, Cole Palmer hadn't debuted in the Premier League, and Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady were center-back selections at Euro 2020.
• 2.Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was predicted to start, which proved wrong. Henderson has won only four caps total and became Crystal Palace's number one rather than Manchester United's, though he'll likely be Jordan Pickford's backup.
• 3.Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham were the strongest midfield calls. Rice was praised as a future 100-cap player when capped just 13 times at 21; Bellingham, only 17 and with one Bundesliga goal, was tipped to be central — both are now nailed-on starters.
• 4.Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back was called wrong in outcome but not in logic. Arnold joined Real Madrid and earned 34 caps, but Thomas Tuchel dropped him entirely from the 35-man pre-tournament squad, with Reece James preferred.
• 5.Jaden Sancho was the worst prediction — confidently tipped as a possible Ballon d'Or candidate. Instead, his career stalled after a £73m move to Manchester United; he hasn't been called up by England in over four years and hasn't scored in the Premier League this season.
• 6.Harry Kane was correctly identified as England's captain and talisman through 2026. Predicted as the likely captain despite skepticism in the comments, Kane has since become England's all-time leading scorer and is described as arguably the best player in the world right now.
• 7.The defensive backups were a complete disaster — 0 for 4. Taki Lamptey now represents Ghana, Ben Chilwell is exiled at Strasbourg, Eric Dier plays for Monaco uncapped since 2022, and Joe Gomez's best moment was reportedly getting into a fight with Raheem Sterling.
• 8.Midfield backup picks of Grealish, Mount, and Ward-Prowse all collapsed after promising starts. Grealish is on loan at Everton uncapped for 18 months; Mount joined Manchester United in 2023 with predictable results; Ward-Prowse dropped to Forest and Burnley after West Ham.
• 9.Overall the creator scores himself 4-5 out of 10, with roughly 10-11 of his 23 players in the expanded 35-man squad. Key misses include Reece James, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, and any of the young midfielders like Kobbie Mainoo who was only 15 in 2021.