Ladbrokes' Festive Countdown Day 1: Ramsdale to earn his spot

• Ladbrokes brings you Day 1 of our Festive Countdown, with our first tip backing Aaron Ramsdale to make England's World Cup squad

• The goalkeeper impressed after replacing Nick Pope in Newcastle's goal against Everton

• Ramsdale will be hoping to win back his place in Thomas Tuchel's squad before next summer

Join Ladbrokes as we count down to the festive period, giving readers a betting tip every single morning over the course of the next 24 days, this time kicking off with Aaron Ramsdale making it into the England squad.

The Newcastle goalkeeper making it into the England squad for the 2026 World Cup features as the first tip in our Ladbrokes Festive Countdown series, and within this article we'll explain why.

In a mixed summer for Newcastle, which was dominated by the speculation surrounding Alexander Isak and his eventual Deadline Day move to Liverpool, one of the transfers that went under the radar was the Geordies' loan acquisition of Ramsdale.

The former Arsenal shotstopper was relegated with Southampton at the end of the 2024/25 season, with several Premier League clubs interested in bringing him in.

Newcastle, who failed in their attempts to bring James Trafford to the club, opted to sign Ramsdale on loan, with many fans feeling Eddie Howe had finally got his hands on the ball-playing goalkeeper he needed.

However, Howe opted to start Nick Pope for the beginning portion of the season, with Ramsdale making no starts in the Premier League or Champions League up until the final weekend of November.

That's where things changed for Ramsdale, as a few days after Pope's howler in Newcastle's 2-1 Champions League loss away at Marseille, Howe opted to give Ramsdale his first Premier League start.

Ramsdale played from the off in Newcastle 4-1 away win at Everton, showing composure on the ball and concentration between the sticks. The feeling amongst the Newcastle faithful is that Ramsdale is going to be their number one for the forthcoming season.

That is big news for Ramsdale, not only because it improves his chances of signing for Newcastle permanently in the summer, but also because he's fighting with Pope for a spot in England's 2026 World Cup.

Neither Pope nor Ramsdale are expected to start for England at the 2026 World Cup, with Thomas Tuchel almost definitely set to continue with Jordan Pickford as his number one, but the back-up goalkeeper spots are very much up for grabs.

Dean Henderson is expected to be Pickford's deputy, but Tuchel has Trafford, Pope and Ramsdale all to pick from for his number three spot in America next summer.

Should Ramsdale have taken over from Pope as Newcastle's number one now, and with Trafford failing to get a game at Man City, his odds of making it into the big England squad next summer will increase significantly.

With England one of the favourites to win the World Cup, Ramsdale will be eager to get into the squad, even if he doesn't play a single minute at the tournament.

And with a spot in a Champions League side likely his to lose now, Ladbrokes is tipping Ramsdale to make it into Tuchel's final roster for next summer's big tournament as the first bet in its Festive Countdown for 2025.

For what it's worth, Ladbrokes has a wider article looking at a variety of odds in the 'To Make the England World Cup 2026 squad' market.

View the latest football odds here.

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication