Preparation for 2026 World Cup Heats Up as England Names Under-18 Squad

The 2026 World Cup is now weeks away, and the build-up across North America is intensifying.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico will share hosting duties for the first 48-team edition of the tournament, with the opening rounds spread across stadiums from Vancouver to Mexico City.

England, under Thomas Tuchel, are among the favorites in a crowded chasing pack, and the conversations around who makes the final squad have already begun in earnest.

Tuchel’s selection headaches are real ones, as the Premier League season has shifted hierarchies in midfield and attack, with fresh contenders also emerging in the back four.

Add in the inevitable late fitness scares and the standard tournament-window withdrawals, and the picture changes by the week. International football, though, is more than just the senior shop window.

While Tuchel weighs his options for North America, the England youth sides are closing out their own 2025-26 campaign, and the latest squad to drop carries three Manchester United names.

England have now officially released their Under-18s call-ups, with Yuel Helafu, Godwill Kukonki, and Albert Mills joining Ben Futcher’s group for a double-header in Cyprus this month.

Futcher has picked a 23-player squad for the trip, with the Young Lions facing Greece at the Dasaki Achnas Stadium near Larnaca on Thursday 28 May before meeting hosts Cyprus at the same venue on Sunday 31 May.

The camp closes out the 2025-26 cycle before the group rolls into next season’s UEFA Under-19 Euro qualifying push.

England’s U18s have already opened that campaign with wins over Croatia and Bulgaria back in March, which, paired with a defeat to Spain, has placed them in League A for the next round of qualifiers in the autumn.