Football
England World Cup squad revealed; Guardiola confirms exit; Manchester United appoint Carrick: football – live
Michael Butler
Fri 22 May 2026 15.02 CESTFirst published on Fri 22 May 2026 09.01 CEST
News
https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/may/22/england-world-cup-2026-squad-revealed-thomas-tuchel-football-news-live
England, 26-man squad named
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Reece James (Chelsea), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
That’s all from the Pep Guardiola press conference.
Pep Guardiola:
Sir Alex Ferguson means a lot to me. He’s the greatest in this country. For many reasons. I miss Johan Cruyff but I’m happy that Sir Alex was there to watch us. He is our neighbour.
I never thought I would stay 10 years. Impossible. I signed for three years initially. It helped that Ferran [Soriano] was here, that Txiki [Begiristain] was here. The manager was always protected.
I think I will take a while [to rest]. But I have to prove that myself. The people have been demanding trebles. I need to breathe a little bit.
Pep Guardiola is asked about his most important moment:
The first Premier League is important. The Champions League, I cannot deny.
I was speaking to Noel Gallagher years ago. He said to me ‘City used to be a team that could not win four games in a row. Now we are a team that wins four Premier League titles in a row.
Pep Guardiola:
I am speechless [about the new stand being named after him]. I like to feel that my vibe or my energy will be there forever. It’s the biggest honour I can get. Thank you so much to the club. On Sunday, my father will come – he’s 94 years old – and our name will be in this incredible place.
Pep Guardiola:
I told the players this morning. The speech was a disaster. I was nervous.
I know I have had incredible success and it is nice to be be talked about like that ‘[as the greatest manager of all time]. What made me happy is that I got messages from Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday, also from Manuel [Akanji] and Kevin [De Bruyne].
I am leaving with incredible peace that I gave everything to this club. Many, many people have been involved in that.
Pep Guardiola:
I want to say a proper goodbye to my people. That’s why I wanted to announce. I am going to rest for a while. No training. I would love to continue to be a part of this club, not as a manager. But if they need me to represent them, I will be there. This organisation has many, many clubs.
Just like Jürgen Klopp, I have that energy but I will not have it in the future. To fight for the titles. After 10 years, it’s good to shake, to move. This season we have been exceptional, fighting against Arsenal. It’s the perfect moment, the perfect time.
Pep Guardiola:
It’s the experience of my life. I cannot be more grateful for the affection that I have had in these days. It’s the time to leave. It’s a process that I felt for a while. The club have respected that, they are ready. The club needs new manager, new energy. They can write another chapter.
Pep Guardiola’s final pre-match press conference as Manchester City manager
Here we go.
“I have quibbles,” emails Adam Blackwell . “I’d rather have a naturally left-sided defensive player in the squad to give us options but I ask myself ‘how likely is it that I would have picked a ‘better’ squad than Tuchel?” and it just doesn’t seem probable. In the end, Tuchel clearly has a plan and I’d rather someone execute on a plan than just pick the best players. Will it work? Probably not. It’s hard to win a World Cup. But I’ve got no real issues with this selection.”
Obviously we have to cede to Tuchel, he is a Champions League-winning manager, and we are humble fans and journalists. I agree with Adam that it’s not the exact squad I would pick, but there is a lot to be said for knowing what makes a team tick, on and off the pitch. Of all the quotes that Tuchel gave this morning, I thought this was the most telling:
I think from day one we were very clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect the 26 most talented players. Teams win championships, it is as simple as that. What we are trying to achieve in the summer can only be achieved as a team.
Few would argue that Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer are not among the most ‘talented’ English players available. But fitness, form, personality and their suitability in a 4-3-3 mean they have not been selected.
That’s the end of our Q&A with Jacob . Thanks for all of your questions. A reminder that Pep Guardiola’s final pre-match press conference as Manchester City manager starts in a few minutes. We’ll bring you all the best bits.
Will more English players move to Saudi Arabia?
“Does Ivan Toney’s inclusion open up the idea that English players can move to Saudi Arabia and still be noticed?” asks Stephen Aston. “Do you think we will see more players moving to Saudi?”
Jacob:
Good point, Stephen. Obviously there were a lot of dismissive comments around players going there when the boom initially happened. Jordan Henderson ended up missing out on a Euro 2024 spot because he wasn’t sharp enough after half a season there. There are some decent sides in the league, though. Take Manchester City losing to Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup last summer. But away from the football I guess a big unknown is whether the geopolitical situation is going to make players think twice about moving to the Middle East.
Should Lewis Hall have been included?
“‘How unlucky is Lewis Hall to be omitted after marking Lamine Yamal out of a Champions League game, and is it a concern that once again we are going into a tournament without a specialist left back?” emails Paul Linford.
Jacob:
We do have a specialist left-back – Nico O’Reilly, who’s been playing there every week for Manchester City, winning two trophies. He’ll start and I’m not sure Lewis Hall is that unlucky. Good player but Newcastle haven’t had a great season.
Starting XI for England’s first World Cup game?
“What is your starting XI for England’s game against Croatia,” queries Colin Rutherford.
Jacob:
4-3-3
Pickford James, Stones (if fit), Guehi, O’Reilly Anderson, Rice, Bellingham Saka, Kane, Rashford
Why was Jarrod Bowen left out?
Sholto Maud asks: “can you give us any more insight into Jarrod Bowen’s omission?”
Jacob:
Tuchel said that the situation at West Ham ended up counting against him. He’s also a big fan of Noni Madueke. He thinks that Madueke can disrupt defences with his one-on-one ability.
What is the realistic target for England?
“England’s World Cup campaigns have been always disappointing, writes Issa Hassan. “What is the target this time?”
Jacob:
Win it! Tuchel, as he said at his unveiling in October 2024, was hired to put a second star on the shirt. They were close under Gareth Southgate. The FA hope that hiring a manager who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 will do the trick. Easier said than done, of course. England will have to do this by playing eight games in 33 days, and in testing weather conditions.
Q&A with England reporter Jacob Steinberg starts now
Our first question, from Ben Watson:
“Who can count themselves the luckiest and unluckiest of all those picked and not?”
Jacob:
The luckiest? Undoubtedly Ivan Toney given even Thomas Tuchel admitted his selection has come as a surprise. However Tuchel looked closely at the Al-Ahli striker’s strengths and believes he can be a useful option to throw on when England are chasing a goal, as well as a potent option if a knockout game goes to penalties. There were other close calls. Tuchel said that Djed Spence could have suffered because of the situation at Tottenham; however it worked out because the full-back played so well against Uruguay in March.
As for the unluckiest, you feel for Adam Wharton after reaching the Conference League final with Crystal Palace. I will carry the flag for Jarrod Bowen. Eighteen goal involvements in the league for a poor West Ham side this season. Morgan Gibbs-White too. He’s had a top end to the season for Forest, but Tuchel did not want to take too many No 10s.
North Stand at Etihad to be renamed the Pep Guardiola Stand
Manchester City have released details that Pep Guardiola will have a new stand at the Etihad Stadium named after him, and – Football Manager fans will enjoy this – a statue of the Spaniard will be commissioned outside of the stadium.
Here is City’s statement:
Manchester City are delighted to announce that the newly-developed and expanded North Stand at the Etihad Stadium will be named ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand’.
Appropriately, the stand will be fully open for the first time for the Manager’s final game in charge at the Club, the concluding game of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday.
As part of the renaming, a statue of Pep will also be commissioned, and feature on the approach to The Pep Guardiola Stand.
Fittingly located at the end of Joe Mercer Way, The Pep Guardiola Stand will be a new focal point on matchdays.
Acting as a structural backbone, the stand is one part of the new multi-element entertainment district, that also includes the new matchday fan activation space named Medlock Square, a 401-room hotel, a new club museum, retail stores, office space and a variety of restaurants and bars.
Sheikh Mansour:
I said a long time ago that Manchester City should have the very best people at its disposal, both on and off the field. For ten years Pep has been the personification of that ambition.
He has made an indelible imprint on the DNA of the Club. One that is borne more from how he won than from the many trophies he lifted. He has the unending gratitude of myself and the entire City family, a family of which he will always be part.
Pep Guardiola will give a press conference at 1.30pm BST, just so you know. Cancel your lunch, tell your boss, we’ll bring you all the quotes.
A brief break from England chat to bring you this piece from Jonathan Wilson on Pep Guardiola.
And if you missed Barney Ronay on Guardiola earlier this week, it’s an essential read.
A reminder that we will have a Q&A with one of our England reporters, Jacob Steinberg at 12.30pm. Do get your questions in via email: michael.butler@theguardian.com and Jacob’s answers will appear on this here blog.
Hello, everyone . Cor blimey. What a morning. Onwards!
Here are a few more quotes from Tuchel regarding the news that Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha, Josh King and will travel to England’s Miami camp before the World Cup.
I am happy that these guys are with us, especially Alex who was even on the list of 55 and had a disappointing phone call as well, that he didn’t make the first cut but the reaction was outstanding. The commitment, the wish to be in pre-camp and to just be a step closer to the team showed me his character. I am delighted he is with us because he was a close call and gets a chance to take a step closer and to get a cap.
And with that, on this quiet day of nothing happening, here’s Michael Butler.
Merino on comeback trail after needing mobility scooter
Arsenal’s Mikel Merino feared that he might never play again after sustaining a stress fracture in “a very strange part of the foot where not even the specialists had seen before” that left him needing a mobility scooter to get around for two months.
The Spain midfielder is expected to be named in Luis de la Fuente’s World Cup squad next week after returning to training and is hopeful of playing some part in Arsenal’s final game against Crystal Palace on Sunday, when Mikel Arteta’s side will be presented with the Premier League trophy. Merino admitted it has been difficult to watch from the sidelines as his team closed on their first title for 22 years and revealed that he struggled to cope given the uncertainty over the injury at first.
“At the beginning I was a little scared,” he said. “We didn’t know what to expect, what path to take during the recovery and if I was going to be able to play again. The first couple of weeks were tough. I tried to crack on with it, have the right mentality, be positive and with the right motivation to try to go forward. Everything has gone perfectly since.”
Merino added: “I had two options, to go down and cry myself to extinction or keep my head up, be positive and try to use my time to improve other aspects. Working as hard as I can is the way I approach life. With the mobility scooter it’s just trying to bring fun out of it, see the sun. I couldn’t walk for two months. It’s a hard time on crutches. The mobility scooter was a fun way to see the light of day and enjoy time with the dog.”
Ben Watson gets in touch: “Really hard to decide which pick / omission is most surprising, John. Henderson instead of Wharton? Burn instead of Maguire? Spence instead of Hall / Trent? Toney instead of Palmer / MGW? Feels like we’re omitting world-class talent for slightly sub-par. Trust the process I guess.”
England squad Q&A: get your questions in
Jacob Steinberg will be doing a Q&A at 12.30pm BST on that England squad and Thomas Tuchel. Get your questions into me and Michael Butler .
On Harry Maguire’s omission and subsequent fallout , Thomas Tuchel said he was “a bit surprised” but could “see the reason”: “We had a private conversation and he had a chance to express his feelings, which is fair enough. We stood firmly with our central defenders who carried us in September to November.”
On Pep, here’s Jonathan Wilson.
It would be oversimplistic to say that the other great tactical thinkers who shaped English football had one big idea and then stopped. But, equally, Guardiola stands alone in his willingness to adapt, to tweak and to change. That perpetual inventiveness perhaps lay behind his tendency at times to overcomplicate his approach in the Champions League , but it is also why Guardiola has remained at the very peak of the game for 18 years.
Tuchel on Djed Spence: “Excellent in every single match he played for us. He is the quickest player in the squad and loves defending,”
On his leadership group: “They created a culture, they set the tone, they set the standards created and took care of the standards and we were very happy with that and that is why the maturity of this team and selection is from the players who were with us in September, October and November.”
More Tuchel: “We have specialists with us, specialists for all kinds of different scenarios, when we are leading, when we are chasing a game, a result. We’ve always said we want to be a strong set-piece team, so we have specialists for that and we want to be a strong penalty team, we have specialists for that.”
Back to England , where Thomas Tuchel says that Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha, Josh King and AN Other will travel to the Miami camp ahead of the World Cup.
Via Manchester City’s website , some words from Pep Guardiola:
“When I arrived, my first interview was with Noel Gallagher. I walked out thinking, ‘Okay… Noel is here? This will be fun.
“And what a time we have had together. Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside, I know it’s my time. Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City.
“This is a city built from work. From graft. You see it in the colour of the bricks. From people who clocked in early, stayed late. The factories. The Pankhursts. The unions. The music. Simply the Industrial Revolution and how this changed the world. And I think I grew to understand that, and my teams did too.
“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way.
“Hard work comes in many forms. Trips to Bournemouth, when we lost the Premier League, and you were there. Trips to Istanbul, when you were there, too.
“Remember, the Manchester Arena attack, when this city showed the world what strength actually looks like? Not anger. Not fear. Just love. Community. Togetherness. A city united.
“Remember, losing my mum during Covid and feeling this club carry me through it. The fans, the staff, the people of Manchester, you gave me strength when I needed it most. Cris, my kids, my whole family, you were there as always. Khaldoon, you were there too.
“Players don’t forget – every single instant, moment, me, my staff, this club, everything. What we have done, we have done it for all of you. And you have been just exceptional. You don’t know it yet, but you are leaving a legacy.
“So as my time comes to an end, be happy. Oasis are back again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for trusting me.
“Thank you for pushing me.
“Thank you for loving me.
“Tony Walsh said in his unforgettable poem this is the place. I’m sorry, Tony: this is my place.
“Noel…I was right.
“It has been so f****** fun.
“Love you all.”
Here’s the Guardian story on Pep Guardiola departing Manchester City.
Breaking news: Pep Guardiola to leave Manchester City
From the club: “Pep Guardiola will step down as Manager of Manchester City this summer.
“The Catalan, who joined City in July 2016, has had a transformative effect during his ten years in charge, and will leave having won 20 major trophies – making him the most successful Manager in our history.
“Despite his departure as Manager of Manchester City, Pep will continue his relationship with the City Football Group, by taking up a role as a Global Ambassador. The role will see him giving technical advice to the clubs in the group, working on specific projects and collaborations.”
Thomas Tuchel on Ivan Toney: “Also a beautiful surprise to us. I had fantastic feedback from his coach, from his club coach who was my player, and I have a close connection with him. I’ve always fantastic feedback about his role there, about his ability, about his fitness. We could see that he still collects the numbers.
“I think he has very special skills that could help us, meaning the situation, the scenario, when we were chasing a result, when we were chasing a goal.
“I think he can be a very valuable addition to Harry Kane. He can be a presence in the box. When we’re pushing for a goal, he can take attention of other strikers. He has a natural presence within the box. He’s a natural finisher. He can help us with said pieces, because he’s very strong in the air. Very good in using his body, and not to forget, he’s a world class penalty taker.“
Tuchel: “Teams win championships, it is as simple as that. What we are trying to achieve in the summer can only be achieved as a team.”
Tuchel is now speaking at Wembley , and issuing his opening remarks. Jason Steele of Brighton is being used as an auxiliary keeper. He’s talking about his squad being committed to the idea of “being unselfish”.
Manchester United confirm Michael Carrick’s appointment
Michael Carrick has been appointed the new permanent head coach of Manchester United . The former midfielder has been rewarded with the job on a two-year contract after a successful interim spell, leading the side to third in the Premier League and securing Champions League qualification with three games to spare.
Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January with United seventh in the Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions. The mood was close to rock bottom at Old Trafford and the task of reversing that appeared substantial. But Carrick got off to an excellent start, leading United to a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City , and has guided the club back to the Champions League after a two-year hiatus, winning 11 and drawing three of his 16 games.
Jon Collins gets in touch: “That midfield looks a bit short of defensive options. If Anderson picks up an injury can Henderson really play 90 minutes? Or will Rice drop into a deeper position? James Garner may have been an outsider to make the England squad but it’s odd for Tuchel to have picked him, praised his performance, and then dropped him when there is no obvious replacement.”
A message from the England captain.
Here’s that 26-man England squad in pictures:
Before the England press conference , due for 11am, more Arne Slot, who has made a series of pointed remarks this morning, He was asked if Dominik Szoboszlai could be a captain in the near future.
“Virgil is with us next season, so let us not look ahead too far. He is already a captain for the national team, so that already tells you that he has that in him. But as I said, Virgil is already here next season. The future of a manager is only normally three days, so looking further than that is a bit too much.”
Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s story on that England squad:
That meant the available slots in the No 10 position went to Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze, leaving no room for Palmer and Foden after disappointing seasons for Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. Palmer has struggled for form and fitness, and Tuchel is thought to have reservations over whether the 24-year-old has the personality for a camp that could last seven weeks.
With Morgan Gibbs-White also excluded, Tuchel has not been afraid to make some unpopular decisions. There will be many England fans wondering why Alexander-Arnold has not made the cut. The Real Madrid right-back has not been in a squad since last June, though, and Tuchel has gone on the record to say he does not trust him defensively.
Yet more Thomas Tuchel: “A lot of factors play into that nomination process. Like I said, I love the difficult decisions, and I love the tough decisions – they bring a certain edge. That is what you need to go all the way. It is hard to please. In the end, we have to pick the squad that we as a staff are convinced of and really believe in.
“You feel the love of your coach, and you feel the trust. In the end, it comes down to this – who do we really trust? The connection has to be there. Somehow, it is a bit of a tool to challenge myself. What would I think from the outside? Mostly it is about the energy, connection and trust between me and the players.”
More Tuchel: “Three very different teams. We are able to have a clear picture. A very hard opening game, England v Croatia sounds like a quarter-final game.
“If we win the group we play every fourth day, and it’s like non-stop away matches. We have to be on point with the preparation. Naturally the tension will just grow.”
England have launched their social media campaign , featuring hip, up and coming youngsters the, er Beatles.
