Three England stars have different opinions about which player from another country England really needs.
Three former England stars were asked which player from another country they’d choose to add to the England team, and they each picked someone different.
England starts their World Cup journey in Group L against Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this Wednesday. All eyes are on Thomas Tuchel’s first starting lineup for the tournament. The German coach is expected to pick Ezri Konsa to play alongside John Stones at center-back and choose Jude Bellingham over Morgan Rogers.
England has had to make a late change, bringing in Trevoh Chalobah after Tino Livramento got a hamstring injury that rules him out of the tournament.
Despite that, the 26-man squad is still strong and led by Harry Kane, who many consider one of the best strikers in the world.
But is there a player type England is missing for this World Cup? SPORTbible asked former England defender Rio Ferdinand. He said England could really use a commanding center-back like Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk. Van Dijk, who scored in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Japan, is a complete defender and brings the kind of experience England needs.
Ferdinand said: “I’d probably say Van Dijk. A big, commanding center-back who’s quick and mobile. We’re pretty good in other areas like No.10s and wingers, but if the defense isn’t solid, you don’t win. Look at the best teams—they usually have strong center-back pairs who play well together.”
Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s top scorer, had a different pick. He chose a player who won’t even be at the World Cup: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia. Shearer is a big fan of the exciting winger who scored 19 goals for PSG this season and shone at Euro 2024. Unfortunately, Georgia didn’t qualify.
Shearer said: “There’s one player not at the tournament, and that’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, sadly. If he wants to come, we’ll definitely take him. He’s amazing.”
The third ex-England star to weigh in was Richards, a broadcaster for BBC and Rest is Football. He went for one of the world’s biggest stars: Kylian Mbappe.
Though Mbappe has faced criticism and a call from fans to be sold by Real Madrid, he showed his class with two goals in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal to start the 2026 World Cup. That took him to 14 World Cup goals, just two behind the all-time record held by Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi.
Richards said: “Kylian Mbappe. When it comes to making his own goals, Mbappe is the best. He’s my favorite player. Even though he hasn’t won anything with Real Madrid this season, his individual skill is unbelievable.”