No Kane, Bellingham false nine…

England are still licking their wounds from the World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina – but there’s a home tournament under two years away…

Euro 2028 will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, representing the best opportunity for major silverware in decades.

We’ve put together an England XI that might just break the 62-year hoodoo, assuming Thomas Tuchel stays in charge and learns some lessons from this World Cup.

GK: James Trafford

Jordan Pickford has been a fine servant for England, but there have been signs at this tournament of fallibility.

Pickford was typically solid at stopping shots, but coughed up possession to Argentina repeatedly during the semi-final doomloop.

Trafford is second choice at Manchester City, but played well in the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal. Still only 23, he has a fine pedigree with England’s under-21s and is a neat penalty stopper too.

He might need to move for more regular football, but Trafford is surely England’s future.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

Objectively, Reece James is England’s finest right-back. But we can’t ignore a poor-to-middling World Cup and his unfortunate injury record.

England have always taken unfit players to tournaments and seen it backfire. A home Euros in 2028 isn’t worth the same risk.

New cult hero Djed Spence cannot be discounted, but we want more technical ability in our ideal XI.

It’s unlikely that Tuchel will return to Trent, but England badly needed his creativity against Argentina – Ezri Konsa’s scattergun lobs into the box will live long in the memory – and perhaps Jose Mourinho can iron out those over-exaggerated defensive weaknesses at Real Madrid.

CB: Marc Guehi

Guehi has been England’s first-choice centre-back at the past two major tournaments and recently signed for Manchester City.

Barring a surprise drop in form, it’s hard to see him not lining up at the back when Euro 2028 kicks off.

CB: Levi Colwill

But the identity of Guehi’s partner is trickier to decide; John Stones isn’t getting any younger, while Ezri Konsa had an underwhelming World Cup where he always seemed to be at the scene of the crime.

We’re not backing Dan Burn to be around in 2028 either.

England could do with a ball-playing defender at the back, in the manner of Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte. Colwill, despite his own injury problems, has the ability to become just that.

LB: Lewis Hall

England left a plethora of left-backs at home this summer, including Hall, Luke Shaw and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Shaw has been an England stalwart, but hardly represents the future, while Lewis-Skelly is likely to play in midfield for Arsenal going forward. The same can be said for Nico O’Reilly at Manchester City.

Hall was perhaps the unluckiest of the trio to miss out this summer, an excellent player for Newcastle in a difficult campaign last year.

He’s being linked with Manchester United and Chelsea and is still only 21. Should be integrated into the XI.

CDM: Adam Wharton

England’s loss to Argentina was so gutting because it exposed old inferiorities surrounding technique and midfield control.

It wasn’t the main cause of the semi-final exit, but teams with better belief in their ability to keep the ball would not have retreated as Tuchel’s team did.

Kobbie Mainoo was left on the bench, but is he the solution? The jury’s out on that, whatever Manchester United fans say.

Wharton just might be, a midfielder capable of destroying opposition attacks and pulling off line-breaking passes.

More importantly, the Crystal Palace man treats the ball as a long-lost friend. Lothar Matthaus was enamoured during the Conference League final; England need to follow suit.

CM: Declan Rice

Bedevilled by injury during this World Cup, Rice was still crucial to England’s success and the team looked worse whenever he was not on the field.

You worry that two more intense years at Arsenal will steadily erode his fitness, but Rice is still one of the first names on the teamsheet and just needs surrounding with complimentary players.

CM: Elliot Anderson

Anderson enjoyed a good World Cup, standing up to well against Argentina’s overly physical tactics and earning a £116million move to Manchester City.

His game should develop at the Etihad, especially sharing a dressing room with Rodri, and the midfielder will be 25 by the time England kick off their campaign at the same stadium on 10 June 2028.

RW: Bukayo Saka

As with Rice, you worry that two more intense years of Artetaball will break Saka – the signs are already there after an injury-hit two years.

But his hat-trick against France was a reminder of Saka’s class and nobody wants to see Noni Madueke hit the first defender with every cross in two years time.

There is always a chance that Saka will be usurped by Arsenal team-mate Max Dowman, but we’re giving this slot to the main man for now.

LW: Rio Ngumoha

We can’t rule out Anthony Gordon kicking on at Barcelona and he certainly performed well at the World Cup. But Ngumoha appears to be different gravy.

The 17-year-old enjoyed a breakout season at Liverpool last year and will expect to be more involved under Andoni Iraola.

And he made his international debut in England’s pre-tournament win over New Zealand in June, impressing with his dribbling and fearless attitude.

ST: Jude Bellingham

England’s Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine was the definition of serene, a 4-0 victory played out under metaphorical clear skies.

It was also the biggest tournament game in which Harry Kane scored a non-penalty goal. Yes, we’re not counting the rebound against Denmark in the semis.

Without wanting to be accused of nit-picking England’s record goalscorer, Kane has gone missing in too many big matches and is hardly getting any younger.

The snag? There’s no clear replacement and no youngster looking likely to breakthrough. England are lacking a striker in Jermain Defoe’s class, let alone an heir for Kane.

Until the academies start playing Inzaghi tapes on repeat, a compromised solution is in order.

Bellingham is already England’s main man and has thrived in an advanced role at Real Madrid in the past. And he’ll only be 24 when the Euros kick off.

England playing with a false nine sounds heretical, until you examine the alternatives.

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