Jamie Carragher says he has one "fear" about England at the summer's World Cup, with the Liverpool legend making his prediction ahead of the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico
09:22, 08 Jun 2026
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has given his thoughts
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has given his thoughts(Image: The Overlap // YouTube)
Jamie Carragher believes England will struggle at this summer's World Cup after Thomas Tuchel picked a group of players who are more solid than spectacular.
England will take on Croatia, Ghana and Panama in the group phase and should be able to progress into the latter stages fairly easily. After that, though, there will be plenty of competition for places in the quarterfinals and beyond.
"At the end of your career, people say what are you proud of? And a lot of people say, 'I played in a couple of World Cups'," Carragher said on The Overlap, sponsored by Sky Bet.
"I don't say that about myself. I don't think I enjoyed the experience. I didn't love it. I didn't come away thinking, 'Wow, I was part of the World Cup'.
"There was a lot of negativity. The team didn't do well, and with the media side of it, you didn't come away from it the way the lads, in 1990, did.
"And I do have a little fear — I think Gareth Southgate's going to be a lot more appreciated in the next five to 10 years.
Thomas Tuchel is aiming to win the World Cup
Thomas Tuchel is aiming to win the World Cup(Image: Bradley Collyer / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
"I was a massive Southgate fan in terms of what he did with England and people saying he underachieved and what he should have done with this team.
"I think England will find it tough in this tournament, if I'm being totally honest.
"You look at the squad that's been picked and there's a lot of good players in there, but I class a lot of them as good Premier League players.
"I don't look at all of them and think, that's an international player there, and maybe that's just here we are with the squad at the moment.
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"So, I wouldn't say I'm the most optimistic right now. I think when you look at the squad, Thomas Tuchel put energy, athleticism, and harmony over talent."
Liverpool.com says: England has a good balance of players but not taking the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer is bold. If the players whom Tuchel picked don't play well, the reputation of those who were left out will rise exponentially.
Along with the likes of Spain and France, England has a chance of going far. It doesn't, though, have the star quality that other top sides have in attack with Bukayo Saka underperforming at the moment and Jude Bellingham having had a relatively middling season.