England World Cup 2026: Odds to make the squad

• Ladbrokes runs through the odds for players to make England's World Cup 2026 squad this summer

• Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford and Declan Rice are all nailed-on to make Thomas Tuchel's squad

• Phil Foden and Ollie Watkins still have work to do, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Max Dowman potential wildcard options

The World Cup 2026 is less than a month away with Thomas Tuchel naming his 26-man England squad on Friday, May 22.

Ladbrokes are offering odds on players to make England's World Cup 2026 squad, with some names already etched in pen to make the 26-man party that will travel to North America and others still fighting to guarantee their seat on the plane, while a few outside options are hoping for a late twist.

Here, we run through all the key names and talking points ahead of the final squad announcement this summer. You can also check out Ladbrokes writers' predictions for England's squad and the latest World Cup 2026 outright winner odds.

You can read our in-depth preview of England's World Cup Group L, which features Croatia, Ghana and Panama, and visit our World Cup 2026 hub for much more content to get you in the mood ahead of this summer.

There is always plenty of debate around England squads - particularly for major tournaments - but there are a cluster of players where you would have trouble finding any supporter questioning their spot in the squad.

Captain and leading goalscorer Harry Kane leads those names, and with the striker currently in the form of his life for Bayern Munich, he is as close to a certain pick as you can get, with Ladbrokes pricing him at 1/50 to make Tuchel's squad.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's place is seen as equally secure, according to the bookies, with midfielders Declan Rice and Marc Guehi just behind at 1/33. Bukayo Saka (1/20) seemingly only has an injury standing in his way of the World Cup, as is the case for Jude Bellingham (1/6) and Cole Palmer (1/8).

Meanwhile, the likes of Anthony Gordon (1/16), Elliot Anderson (1/20), Morgan Rogers (1/20), Ezri Konsa (1/10) and Nico O'Reilly (1/16) have done well to make themselves established members of England's squad in recent years and will almost certainly travel to the United States this summer if fit.

That brings us onto the players who, to differing degrees, may still have some work to do to really guarantee their places at the World Cup.

It may seem surprising to name two of those players as Phil Foden and John Stones but a range of factors mean the Manchester City duo's places are still likely, but not as secure as others at 4/9 and 1/4 respectively.

Marcus Rashford is priced at 3/10 for a place in the squad. The forward has been regularly picked since Tuchel was appointed but with his form tailing off slightly during his Barcelona loan, he is still yet to convince many that he is capable of consistently performing.

Eberechi Eze (1/3), Jarrod Bowen (4/7) and Noni Madueke (4/9) are among the attacking options whose places are not yet secured, while an interesting central midfield battle is developing between Adam Wharton (10/11) and a resurgent Kobbie Mainoo (4/7).

Manchester United's upturn in form led to an England return for Harry Maguire (1/3) in the last squad, which could leave Dan Burn (1/2) facing a nervous wait despite being a regular for the Three Lions of late.

There remains some debate over Kane's understudy up front, with Ollie Watkins (1/3) missing out on the latest squad but returning to form for Aston Villa since then, which feels likely to push Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke (both 4/1) out of contention.

England are no stranger to naming a surprise name in their World Cup squads (see 17-year-old Theo Walcott's bizarre inclusion in 2006) and with Tuchel able to name 26 players, he may decide to throw a new name into the ring at this late stage.

As strange as it may feel to say it, Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/4) probably goes down as a wildcard option after being left out of Tuchel's most recent 35-man squad in March. The Real Madrid right-back is one of England's most talented players but he is clearly not fancied to operate properly in the Three Lions manager's system, with the more defensive Ben White, Jarell Quansah and Tino Livramento all picked over him last time.

Morgan Gibbs-White has arguably been the form player in the Premier League during the season run-in but a facial injury looks to have scuppered his hopes of convincing Tuchel to include him in his attacking midfielder options, with his odds now 3/1 to make the squad.

There is growing support for Myles Lewis-Skelly to make the team after his impressive form to help Arsenal go within touching distance of a Premier League and Champions League triumph. Having seemingly lost his place at left-back, the 19-year-old has looked assured as a midfielder and may well make a late charge for an England return, with his odds now just 6/4.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said:

It looked as though Myles Lewis-Skelly's World Cup hopes had been and gone, but after featuring in Arsenal's last three league wins, and starting the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, a spot on the plane could well be on the cards again.

Arsenal team-mate Max Dowman is another wildcard contender still to be considered after breaking into the Gunners team at the age of just 16. Unlike Walcott all those years ago, Dowman has actually featured for Arsenal this season and became the Premier League's youngest ever goalscorer against Everton in March, so his inclusion would still make more sense but his inclusion is still a long shot at 12/1.

In a similar vein, 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha is another who could force himself into the conversation after forcing his way into Liverpool's XI. The teenager is ahead of Dowman at 8/1 to make the squad.

View the latest football odds here.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.