Back in 2023, The Athletic’s writers were tasked with predicting England’s starting XI for a home European Championship five years down the line.

One selection leaned heavily on a side built around a young Jude Bellingham before working outwards. The picks blended established names with a handful of eyebrow-raising calls, mixing Premier League regulars with players who, at the time, had barely made a senior breakthrough.

Here’s a look back at exactly who was backed to lead England out at Euro 2028.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Aaron Ramsdale; Tino Livramento, John Stones, Levi Colwill, Calum Scanlon

In goal, Carl Anka predicted Aaron Ramsdale would no longer be at Arsenal by 2028, but felt he’d have developed into England’s number one regardless of his club situation. At full-back, Anka went with Tino Livramento to eventually win what he dubbed England’s “right-back war,” seeing him learn from Kieran Trippier and overtake Max Aarons, while questioning whether Trent Alexander-Arnold’s role would ever be settled, much like it is now.

With injury concerns already surrounding Reece James and Ben Chilwell, he handed then-18-year-old Calum Scanlon the start at left-back. The Liverpool defender has currently played just 12 professional matches at 21 years old as it stands. John Stones, who is very much an England regular at present, got the nod alongside Chelsea’s Levi Colwill, who has been in and around the Three Lions setup as he’s dealt with a wave of injuries.

Midfield

Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Curtis Jones

Peter Cziborra via Reuters

Anka’s midfield isn’t far off what it currently looks like, pairing current England regulars Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, with the latter tipped to inherit the captaincy from Harry Kane in the years that followed. He predicted a tight battle for the final midfield berth between the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White, Harvey Elliott and Jacob Ramsey, ultimately handing the role to Curtis Jones for his composure on the ball at Liverpool, with Angel Gomes pencilled in as a smart option off the bench.

Current England starter, Elliot Anderson, wasn’t a thought at the time. That’s likely due to him only just getting a handful of appearances in the Premier League in 2023, before his move to Nottingham Forest the following year.

Forwards

Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah

Perhaps the boldest call came in attack, where he backed Eddie Nketiah to eventually succeed Kane as England’s central striker, pointing to the forward’s decision to knock back Ghana call-ups in the hope of representing his country of birth instead. It’s hardly been the career Nketiah would have hoped for since leaving Arsenal. The striker has scored just eight goals in 58 matches since leaving Arsenal in 2024, with most appearances coming from the bench for Crystal Palace. He did make one appearance for the Three Lions in October 2023, but hasn’t been involved since.

He would start with current England wingers Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka either side of him. Alongside Marcus Rashford, both have been consistent choices on the left and right flank. At the age of 24, Saka already has over 50 international caps, and Gordon, who has just sealed a big-money move to Barcelona, had his best performance in an England shirt at the 2026 World Cup, grabbing two assists against DR Congo in 25 minutes, to save England from an embarrassing defeat in the round of 32.

Manager and Coaches

Graham Potter, James Milner, Adam Lallana

Rounding things off, it was suggested Graham Potter, the former West Ham manager and current Sweden manager, would be in the England hotseat, working alongside recent retirees James Milner and Adam Lallana as his assistants. England’s current manager, Thomas Tuchel, would have been nowhere near anyone’s thoughts in 2023. The German was a surprise appointment in 2025 as it was, and was the Bayern Munich manager at the time of the picks being made.

As a whole, it’s a selection that’s somewhat of a mixed bag, with some picks ageing well, while others who are nowhere near the current squad were favoured ahead of today’s more established options.

Gary Lineker has never been the type to sing his own praises. If anything, his move into broadcasting as the face of Match of the Day has often required him to play down just how accomplished he was as a footballer, particularly when helping shine a light on pundits whose playing careers were far less decorated than his own.

It is understandable, then, especially for anyone born after Lineker last kicked a ball professionally in 1994, that his brilliance as a player may not always be fully appreciated. The former Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham forward was outstanding at his peak.

Lineker is still regarded as one of England’s greatest ever strikers, with his most memorable tournament coming at the 1986 World Cup. He claimed the Golden Boot despite England exiting at the quarter-final stage after Diego Maradona scored two of the most famous goals football has ever seen.

His displays that year were rewarded with a second-place finish in the Ballon d’Or rankings, though Lineker believes he should’ve come first and taken home football’s most prestigious individual honour. Speaking to French outlet L’Equipe in 2023, he said:

Gary Lineker’s 1986 in Detail

Ah, 1986. It was an era when Madonna, Diana Ross and George Michael dominated the charts, England’s old First Division was still simply the First Division, and football had yet to be reshaped by the Bosman ruling, the backpass law or the Premier League. The sport looked very different before it became the enormous commercial machine fans know today.

It was also the year Lineker went from being one of English football’s finest centre-forwards to a striker recognised across the world. The England international arrived at the 1986 World Cup after an extraordinary debut campaign with Everton, having scored 40 goals in all competitions. That included 30 in the league, enough to earn him a second straight Golden Boot.

Lineker then took that form to the World Cup and lit up the tournament, scoring six times in only five matches. After England failed to find the net in either of their first two group fixtures, he responded with a hat-trick against Poland, two more goals against Paraguay and another against Argentina. That effort, though, was eclipsed by Maradona producing arguably the most infamous goal ever – the Hand of God – before adding what many consider the greatest goal of all time, weaving through England’s helpless midfield and defence in the same match.

Even so, Lineker’s performances in Mexico still brought major personal rewards. Barcelona made their move and Everton agreed to sell him for £2.8m. During his time at the Nou Camp, he won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Copa del Rey, before later returning to England with Spurs and lifting the FA Cup.

The 1986 Ballon d’Or

Football in 1986 belonged to a very different age, although the wider political backdrop has echoes of the modern world. Today, much of Western Europe remains in conflict with Russian president Vladimir Putin; back then, global politics was shaped by the Cold War, with NATO countries and the Soviet Union on opposing sides as tensions neared their peak.

That situation seems to have had an influence on the 1986 Ballon d’Or vote, as several Eastern European nations threw their support behind Igor Belanov. He had scored a hat-trick in the Soviet Union’s 4-3 quarter-final defeat to Belgium, while also enjoying a strong club campaign with Dynamo Kyiv. They won both the Soviet League and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with Belanov ending the latter tournament as top scorer.

With Maradona ineligible because the Ballon d’Or was limited to European players at the time, Lineker feels he was unfairly denied top spot.

Lineker Praised Belanov for Role in Ukraine

Although Lineker is convinced he should have won the 1986 Ballon d’Or, there does not appear to be any bitterness towards Belanov, who has again found himself connected to major geopolitical events. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Belanov joined the Territorial Defence Battalion to help defend his hometown of Odesa.

By 2024, he was still assisting and praising Ukrainian troops, an act Lineker had already commended him for.

The 2026 World Cup was never going to pass by without some refereeing controversy. Perhaps the most remarkable bit of officiating, however, came from Uzbekistan’s Ilgiz Tantashev during the 1-0 France win over Paraguay.

It was a tight game in terms of chances as the South Americans worked extremely hard to keep their European opposition at bay. This worked for the most part, but a VAR review led to a penalty, which was dispatched by Kylian Mbappe in the 70th minute.

This was enough to settle the game, but the French players will feel as though they were not helped by the officiating on the day, with the Paraguayan stars allowed to play an extremely physical game without fair punishment.

Ilgiz Tantashev Sparks World Cup Drama With Refereeing Display

A number of incidents have gone viral from the match, with referee Tantashev – officiating his first World Cup and known for his willingness to let games flow – very much the centre of attention. Remarkably, Paraguay completed the encounter without picking up a single yellow card, while France were handed three bookings.

One moment summed up the issues, with Andres Cubas crunching into Adrien Rabiot without getting a card:

There were also multiple moments where Paraguay players lashed out at France stars such as Mbappe and Jules Kounde, with one instance showing a clear kick on the shins of the star striker. Despite this, no yellow cards were dished out.

Speaking on BBC Sport, Joe Hart called out the Paraguay players, saying:

He also praised Mbappe for keeping his composure during the game. Micah Richards added that it was ’embarrassing to see.’

Paraguay Stars Bend the Rules But Still Lose to France

Referee Tantashev even had to rely on VAR before awarding a penalty after a clear foul on Desire Doue. What’s more, he failed to stop the Paraguay stars from scuffing the spot kick before Mbappe stepped up to score.

The game threatened to boil over on multiple occasions, with players coming together at full-time as well. Fans online were completely shocked by the refereeing, with one noting:

Another added: “Worst referee performance of the tournament this.”While, after one bad foul, a third said:

“Worst refereeing performance of the tournament. I can’t believe there hasn’t been a card awarded for that. It’s not even that he’s lost control over the game it’s just the fact he isn’t giving any of the basic decisions. Extremely poor officiating all over.”

In the end, it was a miracle there were no red cards, with a number of Paraguay stars more than lucky to avoid such punishment – while the French players did well to not lose their tempers.