World Cup 2026: Can Morgan Gibbs-White make the England squad?

With the Fifa World Cup now sneaking up on us, we’ve assessed the odds on all of the players around EVS to make the Three Lions’ squad. Thomas Tuchel has got some big decisions to make between now and June, and below we’ve put Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White under the spotlight. 

Below we look at his odds to make the World Cup 2026 squad and discuss the chances of him making it to North America. 

Last season Gibbs-White was the talk of the town. He was in sensational form as Nottingham Forest shook up the European places, eventually finishing seventh before ‘taking’ Crystal Palace’s Europa League spot.

The former Wolves number 10 was a constant menace last season with seven goals and 10 assists in the Premier League as Forest defied all the odds to gatecrash the top half. There’s no doubt that he deserved his England call-up, as he made his debut in September 2024 against the Republic of Ireland.

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Three further appearances that season culminated in him getting a warm welcome off the bench against Senegal at the City Ground in the summer - although that dismal display from the Three Lions has meant a few members of the squad have been left out since. 

Gibbs-White isn’t one of those, having featured against Andorra and Wales in the last two international breaks, and those two substitute appearances mean that he is clearly still in Tuchel’s thoughts. Despite Nottingham Forest’s truly chaotic start to the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked, Ange Postecoglou has been and gone and now Sean Dyche (at the time of writing) is in charge. Who knows how long those words will ring true with Evangelos Marinakis on the warpath this term. It also remains to be seen whether Dyche is the man to get the best out of Gibbs-White.

England World Cup 2026 Squad Odds

Often known for his defence-first, direct football, how will that work with Gibbs-White, a classic number 10? He certainly boasts the work ethic to be the star once again, but with so much competition, will he still be fancied by Tuchel if Forest are embroiled in a relegation battle rather than flirting with the European places?

Then, we have to talk about the competition. In terms of number 10 and attacking players, England are spoiled for choice, which makes it hard to really state the case for MGW to go to the World Cup. Jude Bellingham has been an England absentee for the last few squads, but you would expect him to return and start at the World Cup. 

World Cup Odds

Morgan Rogers has stepped up to the plate with Aston Villa and Ebere Eze is flourishing at Arsenal, while Cole Palmer’s current injury has seen him have a slow start to the new campaign, but he was a star performer at Euro 2024.  With Bukayo Saka likely to start on the right and Harry Kane up top, there are two available spots - one at number 10 and one on the left wing.

Should I even mention the name Phil Foden? One of England’s brightest talents has been hit and miss for 12 months, but is a better player than MGW on paper, while Bellingham, Palmer and Eze are likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order - possibly Rogers too. 

I just don’t see it happening for Gibbs-White unless he can start to produce some serious numbers under Dyche. Clearly, Tuchel likes him and wants to see more of him, so that may work in his favour, but once the big dogs come back, it’s hard to see there being room in the squad for Nottingham Forest’s number 10. 

I’d stay away from this price for now. 

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