The Road to Glory
On Wednesday 17th of June, Thomas Tuchel’s 3 Lions kick off in England’s opening match in the World Cup against Croatia at 9pm. This heavyweight clash is taking place in the Dallas Stadium in Texas. England fans are roaring in excitement for this World Cup as many believe it could truly come home for the first time in 60 years.
England have some star players who could easily sway the tide of the tournament for example Harry Kane who is in contention for the Ballon d’Or and if England win the tournament this could be a reality. Bukayo Saka is fresh off a Premier League victory with Arsenal and will be the primary option on the right flank. Marc Guehi has had a stellar season in the premiership after making the big money move to Manchester City, with him Nico O’Reilly who is a young and upcoming talent amongst the England ranks. Jordan Pickford has been a staple over the last 9 years in between the sticks for England. The star of the 2024 Euros, Jude Bellingham makes another appearance for the Lions after his heroics in Germany for example that bicycle kick against Slovakia.
However, there are quite a few surprises in the squad. Some eyebrows were raised at the sight of Jordan
Henderson and Ivan Toney although the Athletic said “Henderson’s presence as someone who has been here many times, before, is clearly of great value to Tuchel and his coaching team.” The boys at The Beacon news studio believe Toney has been brought mainly for the fact that if Kane is taken off in extra time, he can come on and use his world class penalty taking abilities to the advantage of England.
We have interviewed two people at the school both of which work in the games department. Ed Barnett said “we’ve got a talented squad, with some good young players and we’ve got lots of pace in the team, with some good leadership as well.” The other person we interviewed was Martin Langley who said “ I can see what Thomas Tuchel is trying to do, he’s trying to get a squad that’s unified, that’s all together, you don’t necessarily win a World Cup or win a tournament by picking the eleven best players and putting them on the pitch, because they don’t always play nicely together. So, what I think he’s trying to do is get a squad that will play well together and will have good harmony.” However, there was some contradiction in the two predictions as Mr Barnett predicted a quarter final exit for the 3 lions meanwhile Mr Langley predicted the Lions to get to the final of the biggest stage.
The conditions will make a big impact on not just England but a lot of nations mainly in Europe. The challenge of this world cup is not only about skill, pressure and talent but also about the heat. Experts have warned that 14/16 venues will reach dangerous temperatures, one of which will be England’s base in Kansas City. That dangerous level is 28℃ and four of those stadiums could reach an even more dangerous 32℃ in the hottest hours of the day. In parts of the South and northern parts of Mexico temperatures can reach up to 40℃.
Traders on Polymarket, Put England to beat these teams at Certain percentages
- England to beat Panama at 76%
- England to beat Ghana at 74%
- England to beat Croatia at 56% in their toughest group stage match
- Traders think the most likely exit for England is the round of 16 with a 31% probability, following a round of 32 tight fixture.
A question to answer is whether this squad beats any of those in the past. We think no, as there have been many better squads in previous years. For example, the ‘Golden Generation’ with stars like Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney. Before the World Cup the 1966 squad is the standout squad due to winning the trophy.
Reported by William C and Karanveer D
