Erling Haaland, Jamal Musiala and eight World Cup stars who could have been playing for England in 2026

Thomas Tuchel has no shortage of world-class talent to choose from within England's squad for the 2026 World Cup. But while the presence of players such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice mean that the Tuchel's team are among the favourites, it's worth imagining a world where every England-eligible player at the tournament opted to represent the Three Lions.

While eligibility rules can sometimes be a little confusing, there are plenty of players currently preparing for kick-off in North America who very easily could have represented England had they chosen that route.

GOAL has picked out 10 from 10 different nations who slipped through the England net...

Erling Haaland (Norway)

Erling Haaland has set all manner of records at Manchester City since joining the Premier League giants in 2022, and has been just as prolific at international level with Norway, with whom he enters his first international tournament having scored at more than a goal per game.

Haaland was, however, born in Leeds while his father, Alf-Inge, was playing for the Whites. He then moved to Bryne, his parents' hometown, at the age of three and has been a proud Norwegian ever since.

Haaland himself has confirmed that he only ever really considered playing for Norway, while former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate admitted in 2020 that the City star was "tied up" in Norway's youth system from a young age and was never likely to be receptive to a Three Lions call-up.

Jamal Musiala (Germany)

Like Haaland, Jamal Musiala also made his name as a young star in Germany, though with Bayern Munich rather than Borussia Dortmund. However, unlike Haaland, the attacking midfielder actually did turn out for England's youth teams, playing alongside Jude Bellingham at various age groups before earning two U21 caps in 2020.

It was at that point that Musiala was beginning to shine for Bayern having arrived from Chelsea, and following an intervention from Germany coach Joachim Low, as well as some persuasion from his Bayern team-mates, Musiala chose to represent the country of his birth and where he had spent the first seven years of his life before moving to England.

In the years since, England captain Harry Kane has joked that he could have persuaded Musiala to play for the Three Lions if he had joined Bayern earlier, having signed for the Bundesliga giants from Tottenham in 2023.

Michael Olise (France)

Born in London to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother, Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise had four different international options to choose from. And when he started to produce wonderfully consistent performances for Crystal Palace, there was genuine hope that he may side with the Three Lions.

However, he instead went with Les Bleus. When asked about his decision, he replied: "I have always had a connection with the France national team, that is why I play for France."

For a man who's always been straight to the point, it's a tough explanation to argue with, but the fact that Olise could have been replicating his incredible Bayern partnership with Kane for England is a tough one to take. To his credit, Olise only ever played youth international football for France, so his decision was perhaps not the most surprising one.

Scott McTominay (Scotland)

Scott McTominay is certainly a late bloomer. The midfielder had his up and downs while at Manchester United, but after he joined Napoli in the summer of 2024, he soon became a revered figure in Italy as he named Serie A MVP while Antonio Conte's side won the Scudetto during his debut campaign in Naples.

McTominay's international future was tied to Scotland long before then, having made his debut for the Tartan Army in 2018, back when he was still breaking into the United squad. He was eligible for England having been born in Lancaster, but McTominay was urged by both Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho to pick Scotland, the nation of his father, before a visit from then-manager Alex McLeish sealed the deal.

The 29-year-old's goals are a major reason for Scotland being at their first World Cup since 1998, though he is not alone among Steve Clarke's squad in having been born south of the border, with goalkeeper Angus Gunn, striker Che Adams and teenage midfielder Tyler Fletcher among those with English roots.

Folarin Balogun (United States)

Folarin Balogun rose to prominence when he began banging in the goals for French side Reims while on loan from Arsenal during the 2022-23 campaign, and soon his international future became a topic of interest as the United States (the country of his birth), Nigeria (his parents' homeland) and England (where he spent his entire childhood) all vied for his allegiance.

Balogun played for both the U.S. and England at youth level, but decided to pledge his allegiance to the former in the spring of 2023, sending American fans into a frenzy as the striker they were praying for looked to have finally emerged.

Now playing for Monaco, Balogun is not the only member of Mauricio Pochettino's squad with ties to England, either; Antonee Robinson and Gio Reyna were both eligible for Three Lions through birth, having been born in Milton Keynes and Sunderland, respectively.

Antoine Semenyo (Ghana)

Antoine Semenyo's international debut came back in 2022 when he was playing his club football for Bristol City and any hope of him one day representing England were a pipe dream. However, in the time since, Semenyo has developed into one of the best forwards into the Premier League and may well have been in the England squad this summer following his January move to Manchester City had he not already chosen to represent Ghana.

Born in London, the 26-year-old also holds French citizenship through his mother, meaning he had options. However, his improvements in recent years likely caught the English and French off guard, given he didn't play any youth football for either nation and was a fully-fledged Ghana international by the time he joined Bournemouth in January 2023.

The Black Stars will thus look to Semenyo to be their difference-maker this summer, when he will face off against the country of his birth in the group stages alongside fellow English-born forward, Brandon Thomas-Asante of Coventry City.

Carney Chukwuemeka (Austria)

There was naturally a lot of hype around the players who helped England win the 2022 U19 Euros, where the likes of Liam Delap, Jarell Quansah and Alex Scott were important figures. But after scoring three goals during the tournament, midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka was perhaps the most hyped.

Having broken through at Aston Villa, the midfielder subsequently spent a couple of seasons at Chelsea, but struggled to truly assert himself under either Tuchel, Graham Potter or Pochettino. He is now getting more consistent game time at Borussia Dortmund, but anyone hoping to see him in England colours at senior level in the future will be disappointed to learn that Chukwuemeka has decided to represent Austria, having been born in Vienna.

He made his debut for Ralf Rangnick's side in March and marked the occasion with a goal against Ghana, thus helping cement his place in the squad for the World Cup.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka might have gained 50 caps for England at this point had he not been playing in a generation full of excellent right-backs.

The former Crystal Palace star impressed early on in his career at Selhurst Park with his excellent defensive skills and earned recognition with appearances for England's youth sides. But the presence of the likes of Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Reece James meant getting senior game time for the Three Lions was always going to be difficult.

An ultimately disappointing spell with Manchester United did little to press Wan-Bissaka's case forward, and in August 2025 he opted to represent DR Congo, who will feature at the World Cup this summer after coming through the intercontinental play-offs in March. The man who scored the goal to book their place, Axel Tuanzebe, is also a former England youth international.