**England opened up their [2026 World Cup](https://essential.football/australia-2026-world-cup/) account with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia in Group L. Despite one or two defensive erros, the Three Lions persevered and outscored the team who knocked them out of the 2018 iteration of the competition in the semi-finals.**
But how will England line up when they take on Ghana in their second group game? We aren’t expecting Thomas Tuchel to make wholesale changes, but there could be one or two surprising picks.
Jordan Pickford wasn’t at his best against Croatia, letting two goals in – we felt he certainly could’ve done better with the first goal conceded. We gave him a 5/10 in our [England player ratings](https://essential.football/england-croatia-player-ratings/).
With that being said, there is no reason as to why he shouldn’t keep his spot – he still remains England’s number one shot-stopper as things stand.
This might surprise a few people, but hear us out. Djed Spence looked excellent in his cameo appearance against Croatia – so much so, we think he merits a start.
This inclusion will begin to make a bit more sense as we get further into our predicted XI. When motivated, Spence is a fantastic full-back.
Like Pickford, Ezri Konsa also didn’t have the best game of his career against Croatia, but Tuchel clearly rates him – he won’t be dropped on the basis of a slighty-below-par display.
In his defence, England’s backline was a little off the boil in general – they’ll all be expected to put forth a better display against Ghana.
John Stones wasn’t particularly poor either, but one would expect Marc Guehi to get the nod over him if he is fully fit. Judging by his cameo appearance at the end of the game, he certainly seems to be.
On his day, Guehi is one of the best defenders in the world. Yes, Stones is still a steady hand, but he shouldn’t be above Guehi in the pecking order at this stage of his career.