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Who will start for England at Euro 2028? BBC Sport's predictions

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BBC Sport. (2026, September 22). Who will start for England at Euro 2028? BBC Sport's predictions. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cm3v41epe3l9o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-09-22 · by BBC Sport

Quick Summary

BBC Sport discusses potential starting lineups for England ahead of Euro 2028, set to begin on June 9, 2028, in a tournament co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland. The article features predictions from BBC Sport experts like Phil McNulty and Sami Mokbel about who might make the team, focusing primarily on current players with room for a few emerging talents to challenge established positions.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The BBC Sport predicts England's lineup for the Euro 2028, with key players like Bukayo Saka and Rio Ngumoha expected to play crucial roles. Sami Mokbel, senior football correspondent at BBC Sport, notes that the team will largely resemble the squad from the recent World Cup but could see some minor adjustments by 2028. The article discusses players such as Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon competing for positions, while others like Alex Scott and Lewis Miley are mentioned as potential bench contenders. England is one of four co-hosts alongside Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland for Euro 2028, which begins on June 9, 2028, with qualification still to be secured through competition performance rather than automatic entry.

Written for “England Euro 2028 Squad” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 England Euro 2028 Squad
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss an upcoming match between England and Spain in the Nations League, they are written as separate previews with different dates and focus on different aspects of the event.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 4 of 10 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of preparing for an upcoming Nations League match between England and Spain, but they are not describing the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss England's upcoming Nations League match against Spain, Article A is more about predictions and preparations for Euro 2028 qualification, whereas Article B focuses on the specific lineup and team news for the upcoming match.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss England's upcoming Nations League match against Spain, they do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence. Article A is about predictions for Euro 2028 and the path to qualification through the Nations League. Article B focuses on confirmed team news and lineups for the match against Spain.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 32 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Although both articles discuss an upcoming England vs Spain UEFA Nations League match, they do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence. Article A is more about predictions and context for future matches, while Article B provides specific details about a match on September 26, 2026.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss an upcoming England vs Spain Nations League match in September 2026, they are not describing the exact same incident or occurrence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
34
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
8 of 34 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4955 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

BBC Sport
97 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by BBC Sport
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 97 articles by BBC Sport →

Topics

BBC Sport England Euro 2028 Spain World Cup

Subjects

England GPE · 9× Tuchel PERSON · 4× BBC Sport ORG · 3× Morgan Rogers PERSON · 3× Cole Palmer PERSON · 2× James Trafford PERSON · 2× Jordan Pickford PERSON · 2× Morgan Gibbs-White PERSON · 2× Spain GPE · 2× Tino Livramento PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Bukayo Saka is another certain pick in my opinion, but I believe Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha will develop as such a rate he will be an England regular by 2028, so he gets the nod on the left. Sami Mokbel - BBC Sport senior football correspondent This is largely the same team that was viewed as England's first choice at the World Cup, apart from Morgan Rogers (although I think it will be a close call between him and Anthony Gordon). It's a team packed with players who will all be in their peak years and at the moment, it's hard to see anyone coming out of the team in the next two years. On the bench, however, England will have some fresh options with the likes of Rio Ngumoha, Alex Scott, Lewis Miley and even Max Dowman likely to be pushing for a spot in the squad.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 From 9 June 2028, the European Championship will be hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland - and the path to the finals starts now.

Claims (34 extracted, 8 hedged)

- Published Here we go again. asserted
we → publish → ?
Less than two months after Spain were celebrating their World Cup triumph, the next major tournament cycle begins. asserted
cycle → celebrate → triumph
From 9 June 2028, the European Championship will be hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland - and the path to the finals starts now. asserted
path → host → finals
England host Spain on Saturday in their Nations League opener and, while the competition doesn't offer a direct qualification route, it does provide a secondary route for teams who don't qualify automatically. asserted
who → host → teams
, Thomas Tuchel's men are not guaranteed a spot in the tournament - with all hosts having to earn their place. But, assuming England will qualify for the tournament, who do you think will be in the side for the opener in the summer of 2028? We have asked some BBC Sport experts for their predictions and want you to pick your team using the selector at the bottom of the page. asserted
you → guarantee → page
Phil McNulty - BBC Sport chief football writer Just a couple of changes from the World Cup. Jordan Pickford will be 34 by the time Euro 2028 starts so no problem there for goalkeeper, although James Trafford will mount a serious challenge. asserted
Trafford → start → challenge
I would pick Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back but I am still not convinced Tuchel trusts him even though he has handed him an England recall. asserted
he → pick → recall
On that basis I have selected Tino Livramento, if he can stay fit, although I still hope Tuchel puts doubts about Alexander-Arnold out of his mind. asserted
Tuchel → select → mind
If Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite can steer clear of injury – if – then I think Tuchel could partner him with Marc Guehi in the centre of defence, with Nico O'Reilly staying on the left. uncertain
O'Reilly → steer → left
Personal preference persuades me to pick Adam Wharton ahead of Elliot Anderson – who I do rate very highly – with Declan Rice a no-brainer. asserted
Rice → persuade → who
Tuchel could go either way but I believe Wharton can win that fight between now and then, despite missing out on that final squad. uncertain
Wharton → go → squad
Of course there will be claims for Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and even Morgan Gibbs-White, but Jude Bellingham ended any arguments, such as they were, about his class and place in the team with a brilliant World Cup. uncertain
they → end → Cup
Where would you play them? asserted
you → play → them
I'm banking on Harry Kane having one more major tournament in him, even though he will be pushing 35 – and let's face it, who else is there? asserted
's → bank → it
Bukayo Saka is another certain pick in my opinion, but I believe Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha will develop as such a rate he will be an England regular by 2028, so he gets the nod on the left. Sami Mokbel - BBC Sport senior football correspondent This is largely the same team that was viewed as England's first choice at the World Cup, apart from Morgan Rogers (although I think it will be a close call between him and Anthony Gordon). It's a team packed with players who will all be in their peak years and at the moment, it's hard to see anyone coming out of the team in the next two years. On the bench, however, England will have some fresh options with the likes of Rio Ngumoha, Alex Scott, Lewis Miley and even Max Dowman likely to be pushing for a spot in the squad. asserted
England → believe → squad
But when you consider that England have reached a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final in the past two years it does suggest that this group of players are close and there is nothing there to be ripped up. asserted
group → consider → players
And the fact England would be playing on home soil has to increase their chances of finally getting the job done. asserted
job → play → chances
I would not be surprised to see James Trafford and Dean Henderson given opportunities in goal but it may be that by the tournament it is still his experience that gives Jordan Pickford the edge. uncertain
that → see → edge
Maybe it would be different if the other two were playing for teams challenging for the major honours. asserted
two → play → honours
I expect Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall and Ben White to be staking a claim in the full-back positions. uncertain
Livramento → expect → positions
But I don't think the 11 I've named above would be too far away from the reality. asserted
I → think → reality
Ian Dennis - BBC senior football reporter When Euro 2028 kicks off on 9 June in two years' time, England captain Harry Kane will be 34 years and 317 days old and knowing his levels of desire, he will be determined to lead England for that tournament on home soil. asserted
he → kick → soil
Barring injury then I can see him still leading the line for his country and I would also back Jordan Pickford still to be in goal too. asserted
Pickford → bar → goal
In fact if you look at the current squad then it's hard to see who would not be around as this group of players continue to grow together for England. asserted
group → look → England
Ezri Konsa would be the only other 30-something which is why my starting XI has a very familiar feel to it. asserted
XI → have → it
I would back Max Dowman to be part of the England squad for 2028 but in terms of a starter my only area of uncertainty is at right-back. asserted
area → back → back
I wouldn't rule out Archie Gray to force his way into contention. asserted
I → rule → contention
Like Nico O'Reilly I could see another midfielder adapting into that position on the right. uncertain
midfielder → see → right
I saw him play there as Spurs captain recently and he has the quality, temperament and leadership qualities to step up to senior international level. asserted
he → see → level
Starting with the goalkeeper, I think Jordan Pickford will still be the England number one but James Trafford after a couple more seasons of Premier League football will be pushing him close. asserted
Trafford → start → him
It was a very tight call for Adam Wharton or Myles Lewis-Skelly in the middle of the pitch but with Tuchel still likely to be in charge I think he will go for the more physical Lewis-Skelly as his number six. asserted
he → think → number
Jarrad Branthwaite could be the key physical centre-back and as a left footer will bring balance to the defence but this pick could also go to Levi Colwill. uncertain
pick → bring → Colwill
Max Dowman will be 18 years old by the time the next Euros comes around and will likely be in the squad and could be challenging Saka while Brian Madjo looks to be the next bright natural number nine and could be Kane's understudy for this tournament. uncertain
Madjo → come → tournament
You have seen what the BBC experts think, but who do you reckon will start for England at Euro 2028? asserted
you → see → Euro
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