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Arsenal duo and Everton man in top 10: England's 2026 World Cup players ranked from best to…

England were unable to end their 60-year-long trophy drought at the 2026 World Cup as they were defeated by Argentina in the semi-finals.

Thomas Tuchel's side made it to the final four after beating DR Congo, Mexico and Norway in the knockout rounds.

Despite taking the lead in the second half against Argentina, the reigning champions ultimately proved to have too much for the Three Lions as the match ended 2-1 to the reigning champions.

England were at least able to record their best finish at a World Cup since 1966 after beating France 6-4 in the third-place play off at Miami Stadium.

With England's tournament now over, WhoScored have ranked their squad from worst to best based on their performances this summer.

Kobbie Mainoo and James Trafford have been excluded as they didn't play a single minute for England at the tournament.

24-17

England's Ezri Konsa and John Stones embrace before the match vs CroatiaEngland's Ezri Konsa and John Stones via Reuters/Maria Lysaker

Trevoh Chalobah (6.00) wasn't included in England's initial 26-man squad, but was called up after Tino Livramento suffered an injury. He played just one minute in England's campaign as he came on as a late substitute against France in the third-place play off.

Jordan Henderson played just 78 minutes before suffering an injury after England's last 16 match against Mexico. He received a 6.13 rating, just lower than Jarell Quansah (6.15) and Dan Burn (6.22).

John Stones (6.34) played five matches for England at the World Cup but, statistically, was still one of England's worst performing players.

Ollie Watkins (6.38) can potentially consider himself hard done by that he only played 51 minutes across his two matches. His Aston Villa teammate, Morgan Rogers, has been handed a rating of 6.44, the same as Ivan Toney.

England's 2026 World Cup squad ranked (24-17)

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17

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Djed Spence Face Mask England World Cup 2026IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Brett Davis

England's 2026 World Cup squad ranked (16-9)

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9

Nico O'Reilly had a decent first major tournament for England. The Man City youngster had an average rating of 6.53 across his seven matches.

Interestingly, backup goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been given a higher rating (6.65) than Jordan Pickford (6.57). Henderson may have conceded three goals in his only match against France, but he did make five saves.

Djed Spence had a superb tournament. He was arguably England's best player against Argentina and also performed well against France. His rating of 6.69 places him just outside the top 10, ahead of Eberechi Eze (6.57) and Ezri Konsa (6.58).

Marcus Rashford only played 223 minutes this summer, with Anthony Gordon preferred on the left wing. His 6.70 rating suggests he deserved more game-time. Starting centre-back Marc Guehi performed slightly better than him (6.72).

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8-1

England's Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham celebrateEngland's Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham celebrate via REUTERS/Paul Childs

Noni Madueke (6.80) attracted some criticism for his displays this summer, including from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who tore him apart for his performance in the quarter-final against Norway. Despite that, only a handful of England players were statistically better than him this summer.

Reece James was statistically England's best defender, having been given an average rating of 6.80. The Chelsea captain's minutes at the tournament were limited after suffering a hamstring injury during the group stage match against Ghana.

Anthony Gordon (7.01) had a superb tournament. He was terrific against Mexico in the last 16, while he scored England's goal against Argentina. He just misses out on the top five, though.

Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of Elliot Anderson and the statistics prove why that is the case. The 23-year-old, who signed for Manchester City in a £130 million move this summer, has been given an impressive average rating of 7.11. His midfield partner, Declan Rice, follows him, despite having his troubles with illness and injury.

Bukayo Saka's (7.29) action was limited due to a persistent Achilles problem. The winger still managed to pick up six goal contributions across just 357 minutes, including a hat-trick against France. England may have gone further in the competition had he been fully fit.

Harry Kane (7.36) was prolific again for England this tournament, scoring six goals. But he wasn't England's best player: that was Jude Bellingham (7.73).

There were question marks about whether the Real Madrid midfielder would even be a regular starter for England this summer, but he made a mockery of those claims as he scored seven goals in eight matches. At 23 years old, he's set to be England's key player at major tournaments for many years to come.

England's 2026 World Cup squad ranked (8-1)

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