When will England's World Cup 2026 squad be announced?

Six decades of hurt will either be elongated or extinguished in North America this summer, as the England senior men's team gear up for another shot at glory in the 48-team World Cup 2026 tournament.

Coming close but no cigar under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions turned to Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel to finally get them over the line again, and the ex-Chelsea boss helped England become the first UEFA nation to book their ticket to the tournament.

Unsatisfactory friendly results against Uruguay and Japan mean that Tuchel's side head across the Atlantic with a big question mark hanging over their head, but the German still has an enviable talent pool to select from.

Here, Sports Mole runs through everything you need to know about England's World Cup squad announcement.

When did England choose their preliminary World Cup 2026 squad?

England were required to submit a preliminary squad of between 35 and 55 players to FIFA by May 11, exactly one month before South Africa and co-hosts Mexico play the first game of the competition on June 11.

These provisional squads are known as 'release lists' and do not have to be made public by FIFA, although some countries chose to reveal their extended selections, most notably Argentina.

However, there was no grand unveiling for England's preliminary squad, so fans must wait until the official announcement date to discover who is on the plane and who is not.

When will England name their final World Cup 2026 squad?

Tuchel must whittle down his provisional squad list to a final selection by June 1, 2026, and he can name as few as 23 or as many as 26 players for the World Cup tournament.

The Three Lions have now confirmed that Tuchel will name his final 26-man squad on Friday, May 22, when a creative announcement will be followed by the media grilling the former Chelsea boss on his World Cup selections.

What World Cup 2026 England squad dilemmas does Thomas Tuchel have?

Barring a catastrophic injury or illness, some England players are safe in the knowledge that their plane ticket is already secured - your Jordan Pickfords, your Marc Guehis, your Declan Rices, your Bukayo Sakas, your Jude Bellinghams and your Harry Kanes.

However, it is fair to say that every other England World Cup hopeful is still doing his utmost to get into the manager's good books, such as Gareth Southgate favourite Harry Maguire and the experienced John Stones, the latter of whom has been beset by injuries at the worst time.

The full-back positions also make for an intriguing debate, as two standout right-back options - Ben White and Tino Livramento - are currently injured, while Chelsea's Reece James is only just returning from his latest hamstring issue.

If the latter can stay fit for the rest of the season, though, he will likely go into the World Cup as Tuchel's first-choice right-back, thanks also to his relationship with the manager from their time at Stamford Bridge together.

On the opposite side of the backline, Manchester United's Luke Shaw has remarkably stayed injury-free for the entire season, starting every single Premier League game for the Red Devils to date and making a strong case to be England's starting left-back.

Manchester City's rising star Nico O'Reilly will have a thing or two to say about that, though, as might Lewis Hall, although the latter is currently losing out to Dan Burn for starts in the Newcastle United team.

Adam Wharton, Alex Scott, Kobbie Mainoo and Elliot Anderson are all vying for places in the midfield selection, and it will be fascinating to see how a possible Nottingham Forest relegation could impact the latter's chances of a call-up.

Cole Palmer's waning form and Phil Foden's struggles for starts at Manchester City are also ones to keep an eye on, as the Manchester-born duo battle the likes of Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White for playmaker minutes.

Then there is the perpetual Kane backup debate, although Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins is hitting form at the right time as he battles Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ivan Toney and Dominic Solanke for a place in the squad.