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Supercomputer predicts England's World Cup 2026 squad

Home> Football

Published 12:28 15 Dec 2022 GMT

Supercomputer predicts England's World Cup 2026 squad

Harry Maguire and Jordan Pickford amongst those to be jettisoned from Gareth Southgate's squad in three and a half years' time.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

England's World Cup squad in three and a half years, in USA, Mexico and Canada, is set to have a very different look, according to a Supercomputer's prediction.

There can't have been many England fans sat in front of the television watching France and Morocco in the semi-final on Wednesday night not thinking "it could have been us."

Gareth Southgate's side were very unfortunate to be beaten by the French last weekend in the quarter-finals and arguably should have won the game.

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They might well have done, if Harry Kane hadn't had a surprising moment when blazing his second penalty of the game over the bar.

It was another case of glorious failure, which the Three Lions had suffered at Euro 2020 and the 2018 World Cup, when losing in the final and semi-final, respectively.

With France then getting past Morocco, and setting up a Kylian Mbappe vs Lionel Messi final, supporters of Southgate's team would have been further left wondering what might have been.

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Looking to the future, fans don't even know if Southgate will be in charge of the Euro 2024 qualification process, with the manager having dropped a hint but not confirmed where he stands.

Others will start predicting who might be playing for the national team in the future, and SPORTbible gave it a go, and the data has also given it a go.

Midnite have crunched the numbers to pick a 26 man squad to go to the tournament in North America:

Goalkeepers:

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Aaron Ramsdale

Dean Henderson

James Trafford

Ramsdale didn't play in Qatar but is predicted to replace Jordan Pickford for the next World Cup. Image: Alamy
Ramsdale didn't play in Qatar but is predicted to replace Jordan Pickford for the next World Cup. Image: Alamy

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Defenders:

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Ben White

Luke Shaw

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Ben Chilwell

Reece James

Trevoh Chalobah

Marc Guehi

Fikayo Tomori

Many felt Tomori should have gone to Qatar. Image: Alamy
Many felt Tomori should have gone to Qatar. Image: Alamy

Midfielders:

Kalvin Phillips

Declan Rice

Conor Gallagher

Jude Bellingham

Mason Mount

Harvey Elliott

Emile Smith Rowe

Morgan Gibbs-White

Liverpool star Elliott is expected to make it into the England squad in the future. Image: Alamy
Liverpool star Elliott is expected to make it into the England squad in the future. Image: Alamy

Forwards:

Marcus Rashford

Phil Foden

Jack Grealish

Bukayo Saka

James Maddison

Tammy Abraham

Folarin Balogun

Could Folarin Balogun replace Callum Wilson, or even Harry Kane, in the squad? Image: Alamy
Could Folarin Balogun replace Callum Wilson, or even Harry Kane, in the squad? Image: Alamy

The squad was based on a number of stats, with goalkeepers and defenders chosen based on the amount of goals conceded per 90 minutes.

Midfielders were picked on their goals and assists per 90 and forwards on their goals scored for every 90 minutes, whilst players who will be over 32 come the tournament were left out.

That means that Kane was not selected, most will still expect the Tottenham Hotspur forward to be involved, even if his replacement as captain has already been identified.

Of course, three and a half years is a long time in football and it's highly unlikely that the computer is going to have got this right.

Who do you think will be going to the World Cup in 2026?

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: England, Football World Cup

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28

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