Everton players at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup is just around the corner, with the opening game between Mexico and South Africa taking place on June 11.

All 48 squads have now been confirmed, and just four Everton players have made the cut.

James Garner can consider himself hugely unfortunate to miss out on England’s squad, but otherwise, a Premier League team only having four players to head to a 48-team World Cup perhaps shows where Everton currently are.

There were some near-misses, of course. Mark Travers and Jake O’Brien (and Seamus Coleman, but he is no longer an Everton player) could not help the Republic of Ireland qualify via the play-offs, while Vitaliy Mykolenko’s Ukraine also failed to make it. Tom King was part of the Wales squad that also fell in the play-offs.

Adam Aznou no doubt harboured hopes he would be in Morocco’s World Cup squad, but his lack of minutes this season cut that dream short.

But, let’s take a look at the Toffees who will be in action.

JORDAN PICKFORD (ENGLAND)

It was another fine season for Pickford, who made some outstanding saves. Unfortunately, his form did tail off somewhat at the end of the campaign, but a goalkeeper cannot always be expected to work miracles.

The common consensus from those outside of the Everton bubble was that Pickford would always perform better for his country than his club — but we all know that was rubbish, don’t we?

Pickford is clearly England’s best goalkeeper, even if Dean Henderson has had another strong campaign.

He was a stalwart of the Gareth Southgate era, playing a key role in England reaching two finals and a semi-final at major tournaments.

Fitness permitting, he’ll play every game for Thomas Tuchel’s team. Fingers crossed, he’s at his very best yet again.

NATHAN PATTERSON (SCOTLAND)

Another frustrating campaign for Patterson came to a close with the right-back having made just eight appearances across all competitions, and only four of those were starts. In total, he played just 356 minutes.

Why Patterson got so few opportunities in the back half of the season is a question for David Moyes, but it does seem certain the defender will be sold this summer, and that needs to happen, for everybody’s sake — his move to Everton has simply not worked out, for one reason or another.

But, he is highly rated by Scotland boss Steve Clarke, and it’s fantastic that he’ll have the chance to go to a World Cup, having missed Euro 2024 due to injury.

With first-choice right-back Aaron Hickey also having his injury issues, Patterson could well get a shot, and if he can perform well, that will help keep his value on the market.

ILIMAN NDIAYE (SENEGAL)

News broke earlier this week, as reported by The Athletic, that Ndiaye’s representatives have so far rejected Everton’s offer of a new contract. 

I understand the wages and length of the deal on offer are not a sticking point for Ndiaye, but his camp are insisting on a low release clause, which Everton are not willing to accept.

Ndiaye still has 3 years left to run on his deal, though, so the club are in a strong position, and the forward’s focus must now be on getting back to the levels we all know he can hit.

He had a poor end to the season, and while fans are fair to cite fatigue, if Ndiaye is to get a big move, he better get used to playing lots of matches in swift succession.

Ndiaye has not always been a guaranteed starter for Senegal, but he will almost certainly feature one way or the other, and it is usually from the right, with Sadio Mane preferred on the left.

He has already helped Senegal to one trophy this year, even if that was controversially stripped away from them months later, and they are being tipped to do some damage at this World Cup.

However, they’re in a tough group, going up against France, Norway and Iraq.

IDRISSA GUEYE (SENEGAL)

Gueye’s Everton future is also up in the air. He missed most of the run-in due to injury — and I, for one, feel his absence was badly felt.

But Gueye is out of contract at the end of June, and so far, talks over extending his stay at Everton seem to have stalled.

The 36-year-old, who was vice-captain for the AFCON, is still as integral for his nation as he is for Everton.

In fact, only two outfielders played more minutes at this past AFCON than Gueye (660).

However, the hamstring injury that saw him miss the last four games of Everton’s season may mean he faces a race to be fully fit for Senegal’s opening game, against France on June 16.

Whatever the future holds for Gueye, this is surely likely to be his final World Cup, and possibly his last major tournament for Senegal. Capping off his international career by helping the Lions of Teranga go on a deep run would be a fitting end for such a fantastic player.

 

 

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