World Cup 2026: Should Lewis Hall make the England squad?

England's preparations for the 2026 World Cup are well underway and people are already putting together their ideal squad lists. Of course the one person whose actual selections matter is boss Thomas Tuchel.

The German coach will have an idea in his head who the certainties are for the tournament finals, while there are some who may need to convince him. One of them might be Lewis Hall, and we take a look at his chances of going to the World Cup.

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The Newcastle United left-back has established himself as one of the best left-sided full-backs in the Premier League and this has been widely regarded as one of the weakest positions for depth when it comes to the England squad.

Luke Shaw has been around for a long time but he spends his days mainly as a left centre-back now, so there is a need for the Three Lions to consider other options for the left-back position and right now you'd say Hall is high on the list.

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He was a consistent performer for Newcastle last season as they returned to the Champions League and won the Carabao Cup. In 27 league appearances, Hall provided four assists, and while he has seen his start to the current campaign disrupted by injury, he is expected to have another productive term once he is back up to speed.

Under Tuchel's predecessor Gareth Southgate, Kieran Tripper, a natural right-back, was often deployed as the left-back. While he did a good job in that role, his lack of comfort playing with his left foot was sometimes a stumbling block, which would be a big plus next to Hall's name next summer.

England World Cup 2026 Squad Odds

The one concern for Hall right now is that he doesn't appear to be in Tuchel's thinking. The 21-year-old has not been selected for any of the five squads Tuchel has picked in 2025, and he continues to gain his minutes with Lee Carsley with the Under-21s.

Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly is another left-back he appears to be going head-to-head with, and the Gunners defender has been named in a few of this year's squads. However, his game time is currently limited at Arsenal and Tuchel has told him that he needs to be playing regularly to boost his chances of going to the World Cup.

A potential move may be on the horizon for him in the new year but Hall when fit is Newcastle's starting left-back and this could hand him the advantage in this battle for a seat on the plane.

But there are other players who will be eyeing that left-back spot in the team in the likes of Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell and Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly.