Jarrod Bowen has been backed to make England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup after another strong season for West Ham United by pundit Gary Lineker.
While Bowen is disappointed with his own form at West Ham United this season, it’s difficult to understand why.
All 16 of his goal contributions have come when West Ham started the day in the Premier League’s relegation zone.
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Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring his sides fourth goal during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League B Group B2 match between England and Republic of Ireland
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Only Bruno Fernandes and Rayan Cherki have more assists than Bowen’s eight assists this season, while his eight goals mean that only 19 players across the whole division have scored more than him.
Despite all that, Bowen remains a relative fringe player for England under Thomas Tuchel when all options are fit.
Lineker, however, thinks the Hammers skipper is bound for the World Cup.
Lineker backs Bowen to make England’s World Cup squad
The pundit was speaking on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football.
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He said: “He’ll probably feature this summer, won’t he? With England, in the squad. I think he’s one of those who can fill in a variety of different positions. He’ll probably make the squad.”
This has been a difficult season for pretty much every player in the West Ham squad – Bowen included.
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Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United celebrates opening the scoring during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on January 31, 2026 in London, England.
Despite his success in front of goal, the forward has attracted criticism at times, and he did not overly impress in the most recent international break.
That is clearly true of most of the England squad given they drew with Uruguay and lost to Japan at Wembley, but Bowen needed to put in a big performance if he was ever going to move ahead of Bukayo Saka and potentially even Noni Madueke in the pecking order.
Jarrod Bowen playing for England against Uruguay.
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Still, leaving Bowen on the bench for most of the tournament would be foolish enough – never mind not taking him at all.
He makes things happen when the going gets tough. This is a player used to stepping up in high-pressure situations, something Tuchel could certainly do with if England are going to go on a deep run.
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