2026 World Cup: The stars who could have donned the England shirt.

World Cup 2026 World Cup

Erling Haaland is set to be the greatest threat to England when they meet Norway in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday (22:00 BST) – yet the situation might have turned out quite differently.

The prolific forward for Manchester City was born in Leeds, and could have been in the national squad had he chosen to represent the nation where he was born. He is far from the only case.

Several notable performers at this tournament could have pulled on an England shirt but are instead turning out for other nations.

Intriguingly, from Thomas Tuchel’s 26-player tournament roster, 20 were technically qualified to represent a different country before pledging their futures to this national team.

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