World Cup 2026: Can England Break the Curse?

The World Cup 2026 is coming into sharp focus. It’s not long until the summer extravaganza takes place, and the expanded tournament will see 48 teams descend upon the USA, Canada, and Mexico in search of glory.

England, for example, have been widely touted as one of the favourites among major football bookies in the build-up, but can they live up to the hype? Naturally, expectation levels will ramp up, and the Three Lions will be desperate to end their 60-year wait to lift the game’s most coveted prize.

How might they fare? We’ve taken a deep dive by exploring their style and discussing whether they can put a long-standing hoodoo to bed.

England cemented a World Cup Finals berth by coasting through a group containing Serbia, Albania, Latvia, and Andorra without conceding a goal.

It may not have always been the prettiest football, but Thomas Tuchel’s men churned out the results. They qualified with two games to spare, and they will be making their 17th appearance at the most prestigious international tournament.

England punched their ticket to the World Cup in October 2025, but as we’ve seen over the years, the Three Lions have often had few issues in qualifying.

Group L has some fascinating strands to it. On paper, it looks quite strong as England will be paired alongside Ghana, Croatia, and Panama.

Intriguingly, England will come up against Panama once again. In their previous encounter at the 2018 World Cup, England put a brittle Panama to the sword. They were 5-0 up at half-time before running out 6-1 winners, marking their biggest victory in the tournament.

A reunion with Croatia, whom the Three Lions lost to in the semi-finals of the 2018 edition, will be a mouthwatering prospect. Luka Modric, for example, is poised to bring the curtain down on his international career for Croatia after the tournament, and he has provided some spellbinding moments for his country.

But if we are to look at the finest World Cup betting platforms, England have been given the nod to take top spot over Croatia, and they are valued at just 1.28 with GoldenBet to do so, perhaps reflecting a big team bias here.

In the past, England have been criticised for being overly cautious and tentative at the World Cup. However, the Tuchel era represents a bold period for England, and it will be fascinating to see if it takes off.

Often, flipping between various formations, such as 4-3-3 or 4-1-3-2, Tuchel is a deep thinker, but he wants to inject a club football style onto the international scene.

Renowned for pressing high and hard during his spell at Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel will need to take the hand brake off if England are going to make serious inroads at the World Cup.

There are a few selection dilemmas to contend with for Thomas Tuchel. He will have to wrestle with the thought of taking Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, who has plenty of international experience, or consider whether he is ready to take a punt on Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been instrumental for Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, among the other players on the fringes are Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton, who has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot under Tuchel. He was included as part of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for Euro 2024, but he didn’t feature, so perhaps food for thought there.

Despite the galaxy of stars at Tuchel’s disposal, Harry Kane is the undoubted go-to man. Scoring for fun at Bayern Munich, Kane is a standout Golden Boot contender, and he has often proved to be the difference maker.

A former Golden Boot winner, Kane has netted eight times in World Cup Finals, two shy of Gary Lineker’s record, but it’s not just goals that he brings to the table.

Kane boasts exquisite passing technique and vision. He can drop deep to spray long passes, and he is a generational talent. If England are going to go all the way, Kane will likely play a prominent role.

In siding with England, you are going with a team that has been an ever-present feature at the World Cup. Apart from their sole triumph in 1966, the Three Lions have a decent track record as they have reached the quarter-finals on five occasions and the last four twice. 

Although they have routinely come up short, Kane is a goal machine, and he is in the mix at 8.00 with trusted bookmakers, such as MyStake, to take the individual accolade. Meanwhile, you can locate odds of 5.50 with JackBit to be eliminated in the last four, suggesting they could have a deep run.