As is often the case with England squad announcements, Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for the upcoming World Cup raised plenty of eyebrows and kickstarted huge chatter online, discussing the players unfortunate to miss out and those who should consider themselves lucky to be on the plane. Manchester United have just two players included in the squad, although many United fans believe that number should have been considerably higher.
Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire both enjoyed stellar campaigns at Old Trafford, with Shaw being the only United player to start every game and Maguire elevating his game to another level entirely since Michael Carrick returned to the dugout. The towering centre-half and his family reacted poorly to his omission, releasing a series of statements and comments on social media that felt a little unbecoming.
Star central midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford, who spent the season on loan at Barcelona, are the only Red Devils headed to the United States hoping to bring the World Cup home. Now, with their official squad numbers revealed, we have more understanding as to how involved they will each be in that journey.
Rashford’s experience
Rashford is undoubtedly the more experienced of the pair when it comes to representing England at major tournaments. He first appeared in a major tournament for the Three Lions at the 2016 UEFA European Championships, where he was the youngest player involved. The upcoming World Cup will be the third in which the Mancunian has been involved, and he will surely be hoping to add to his three World Cup goals.
Despite an up-and-down season on loan at La Liga champions Barcelona, Rashford has regularly been included in Tuchel’s squads and often finds himself in the starting eleven. It is thought the starting left-winger for England in the upcoming tournament will be a straight shot between Rashford and Barcelona’s new signing Anthony Gordon.
Mainoo’s experience
Though Mainoo’s experience at international football is limited compared to his former teammates, the United academy graduate made a huge impact at the 2024 UEFA European Championship, the only previous major tournament squad in which he was included.
Despite not starting any of England’s group games, the talented central midfielder forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s starting eleven and played a key role in England’s journey to the final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Spain. Mainoo appeared unlikely to make the squad before Carrick returned to United in January and restored the Mancunian to the starting eleven. Since then, the England international has returned to his best and Tuchel had no choice but to include him in the squad.
Mainoo’s shirt number
🏴❤️ Kobbie Mainoo and Michael Carrick. Number 16 for England 🤝 pic.twitter.com/rJfopnt1Du
— Official_Nonso 🔴👹 (@raphnelson_abah) June 2, 2026
Sky Sports have officially revealed that Mainoo will take after his manager and wear the number 16 shirt in the upcoming World Cup. This perhaps indicates that the wonderkid will once again have to fight his way into England’s starting eleven. However, with the climate set to force Tuchel into a lot of rotations throughout the tournament, Mainoo can still expect to pick up plenty of minutes throughout the summer.
The number 16 is also a clear indication that Mainoo’s international career is on an upward trajectory, given that he wore the number 26 squad number in the 2024 UEFA European Championships. Hopefully, by the time the next tournament rolls around, he will have established himself as England’s number eight.
Rashford’s shirt number
Rashford, on the other hand, retains the number eleven shirt that he wore at the 2021 Euros and the 2022 World Cup. This will surely be a welcome boost to the player, who did not make the squad for the 2024 Euros, providing assurances that he will likely begin the tournament as Tuchel’s first-choice left winger.
The pacey winger will be hoping to deliver a series of standout performances and showcase everything he has to offer during the World Cup in order to entice Barcelona into signing him permanently. Surely getting his hands on the World Cup trophy would be enough to do just that.
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