Now with the FIFA World Cup days away. Hear me out on my crazy Group I FIFA World Cup prediction.

Just before I get into it, I want to preface this by saying I think this World Cup is going to be played in the style of the Premier League. The teams that get closest to that high-octane reality will find the most success, albeit at the slightly slower pace native to international football. Whether that’s adopting Bournemouth’s quick direct style, Sunderland’s up-and-down second-phase verticality, Man Utd’s deep-sitting counter football, or a tactical hybrid like Aston Villa or Arsenal.

Set pieces will be absolute gold dust, as will teams adjusting to the weather. Pure technique will largely go out the window in favour of gritty dogfights, punctuated by the occasional moment of “Take a bow, son” magic.

Let’s get into it!

GROUP I

BLUSHES SPARED.

I’ve got this down as THE group—this is the one that’ll leave jaws on the floor and keep stadiums packed (depending on ticket prices). I have tournament favourites France being forced into survival mode, scraping through only via the best third-placed team rule.

Senegal play football like the away goals rule still exists; they have the quality and experience to sit deep, suffocate space, and wait for lethal counter-attacking opportunities, or be direct and step up to dominate possession – they’re highly organised and rigid, nightmare comb for France.

They are full of elite athletes who excel in physical duels, which is going to be a critical currency at this World Cup, backed by a bench loaded with game-changers.

That sounds straightforward, and I’d imagine most would agree. Now for the controversy – Norway, Norway, NORWAY!

I have maintained since the groups were released that NO ONE would want to touch this Norwegian side, let alone share a side of the bracket with them. They arrive boasting the absolute most lethal weapons in European qualification: Manchester City’s goal machine Erling Haaland (who cleared a historic 16 goals in qualifying) and Arsenal’s Premier League-winning captain Martin Ødegaard, who also finished right at the top of the qualifying assist table with a tournament-high 7 assists.

I think those two will be monstrous for Norway and make them one of the trickiest teams to play at the World Cup. Ødegaard operates much more as a transitional, direct asset for the national side, which is almost the exact opposite to the possession-based controller he is asked to be at club level. This means his head is always on a swivel looking to play forwards in behind.

When you pair his vision with Haaland's movement, flanked by electric wide players like Nusa, Andreas Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb, mixed in with the physical hold-up play of the likes of Sørloth and Strand Larsen, you can cause any team in world football existential problems.

Their midfield outside of Ødegaard and their backline are not flashy, but they are hardworking, highly efficient structural blocks

Saka Was My Winger. Now, He Needs to Be My Striker.

We’ve all seen the “Saka is my winger” memes floating across social media. It’s a catchy line, but it’s time to spark a debate that has been quietly festering for a couple of seasons now: Bukayo Saka needs to be moved up front. Enough with the exhausting right-wing shifts.

The Evolution of the Elite Wide Player

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a massive tactical shift. The world's most influential wide players inevitably find themselves moving centrally. Whether it’s a permanent transition or a fluid tactical adjustment, the drivers are always two-fold: tactical necessity and physical preservation.

Think of Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Kylian Mbappé. All of them burst onto the scene terrorising fullbacks on the flanks before eventually migrating to central roles. The sheer physical toll of playing out wide the constant, high-intensity tracking back and lung-busting touchline sprints takes an immense toll on the body.

Saka doesn’t sit at the table of those legendary names, but he shares a crucial trait with them: he has outgrown solely being a right winger. He should’ve evolved into a complete forward by now, much like the transitions we’ve seen from Jarrod Bowen, Vinícius Jr., or even Raphinha, who have all unlocked world-class levels by operating closer to goal.

The #10 Is Dead, Long Live The #10

 I am genuinely surprised by the lack of exposure Saka has had in central roles or even on the left wing. Yes, Mikel Arteta experimented with him in an attacking midfield role for a couple of games during the 2025/2026 season. But let’s be honest: the modern #10 role has lost its freedom.

A decade ago, the playmaker was a free spirit - a maverick on the pitch who went wherever they pleased. Today, tactical systems are so rigid that central midfielders are bound by strict positional discipline to combat modern defensive blocks.

If you want your best player to have total freedom, you don’t drop them into the midfield engine room or force them into dog work shifts out wide. Saka is far too intelligent to be locked down or double-teamed on the touchline. As a striker, he would have a license to cause absolute havoc, unsettling low blocks and making defenders miserable. He could drop deep to link play, drift out to overload the half-spaces, and make unpredictable central runs behind the line.

Adding Weapons to the Arsenal

We have watched Bukayo add new strings to his bow season after season. He started as a raw, 1v1 touchline menace. Then, he developed his trademark "cut-inside-and-shoot" routine. Since then, he’s added long-range strikes, deep back-post crossing, and a clinical weak-foot finish to his arsenal.

 

The Turning Point

We know his ceiling is astronomical because we saw it in the first half of the 2024/2025 season. Before disaster struck, Saka was playing the absolute best football of his career, racking up a staggering 18 goal contributions in 22 appearances across all competitions. Even while Arsenal struggled as a collective, Saka was matching the output of Mohamed Salah at his peak.

More importantly, we saw a massive shift in his demeanour. He was playing with a distinct swagger, finally dusting off the "humble, nice kid" tag to embrace the aura of a global superstar. While the hamstring surgery at Crystal Palace derailed that momentum, and the last 12 months have been a difficult journey of recovery and rushing to find that rhythm again, the blueprint remains.

Saka is no longer just a winger. If Arsenal wants to unlock his final form, protect his longevity, and maximize his development, it’s time to let him lead the line at least some of the time!

The REAL Golden Generation? The Statistics That Put Beckham, Rooney and co In The Shade.

This is going to sound crazy, but 16 out of the 26-man England squad have won at least one major trophy in the past two seasons. (Premier League, FA Cup, UCL. UEL. UECL,EFL).

England have never had this many winners in a squad for any international tournament ever

25/26

• Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly won a domestic cup double along with James Trafford and John Stones.
• Ivan Toney has won back-to-back AFC Champions League titles, the biggest and most prestigious club competition on the Asian continent.
• Dean Henderson has had a trophy-laden 18 months, lifting the UEFA Conference League this season as captain in Germany, winning the FA Cup last season, and the Community Shield to kick off this year.
• Ezri Konsa has quietly become one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League. Aston Villa won the UEFA Europa League, with Morgan Rogers picking up player of the tournament and Ollie Watkins scoring plenty, including goals in the semi-final second leg and the final in Bilbao.
• Harry Kane and Bayern Munich retained the Bundesliga and won the DFB-Pokal in Germany, and narrowly missed out on playing in his second UEFA Champions League final. But he had his most prolific season to date and is a front-runner for the 2026 Ballon D’or.
• Marcus Rashford landed on loan at Barcelona and seemingly impressed for the Spanish giants, winning La Liga.
• Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Declan Rice won the Premier League.

That’s 15 players, which means well over HALF the England squad have won a trophy this season at seven separate clubs.

If we include the previous season (24/25) that number goes to 20 out of 26.

 2024/2025

• Djed Spence won the UEFA Europa League in Dublin.
• Reece James won the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup, with former Chelsea winger and Premier League Champion Noni Madueke playing in the tournament.
• Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, and Barcelona’s Anthony Gordon all picked up winners’ medals after beating Liverpool in the League Cup final

That means 20 of the 26 have won a trophy in the past two seasons. From the players not mentioned, Kobbie Mainoo has an FA Cup and League Cup, producing a player of the match display in a final.

Jude Bellingham has won it all in recent years with Real Madrid CF, and he was a clutch moment machine the year they won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga.

Jarell Quansah had cup success with Liverpool before his move to Bayer Leverkusen and finally, the most controversial pick in the squad, Jordan Henderson, who captained Klopp’s Liverpool to every trophy mentioned above during his time at the club.

 

England have winners throughout this squad starting and on the bench, they aren't not from 2 or 3 clubs like it used to be but instead from 10+ clubs. Only thing this squad is missing is quality with experience - I think that's why Henderson and Stones have ended up in the squad w/o them the amount of total caps drops massively with Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham becoming the 3rd and 4th most capped players behind Pickford and Harry Kane

Do we have a chance this summer?