With England reaching back-to-back finals in the European Championship, they seem to be back at their best. Here I will look at some of the best English talents and present a potential future strongest XI for the 2030 World Cup.
England's Top 5 Young Talents
Avoiding players like Jude Bellingham and Kobbie Mainoo who are already very high-profile players that have played in European Championships and World Cups, these are the top five English talents out there right now, in no particular order.
Levi Colwill (21) - Chelsea
Having already captained Chelsea in a few games this season after being named one of the vice captains to Reece James, Colwill has plenty of experience and leadership and at only 21 years old, he could yet have 10 years in him for England. He has firmly established himself among the best centre-backs in the English top flight and has cemented a spot in Chelsea's starting XI after his impressive loan spell at Brighton in the 22/23 season. If he keeps up this form, he could be in line for a callup at the 2026 World Cup.
Jarell Quansah (21) - Liverpool
Another centre-back, Quansah is an exceptional talent and was part of the Liverpool team that beat Colwill's Chelsea in the 2024 EFL Cup final. Quansah had an excellent streak of form in the 23/24 run-in and played well in pre-season too. However he has not been able to find his way into the starting XI over Konate yet this season, having only one league appearance and two cup appearances to his name and not being particularly impressive in any of them. However, Quansah is still a quality player and could be the perfect partner to Levi Colwill in the future should he find his feet again.
Mikey Moore (17) - Tottenham Hotspur
Mikey Moore is a young winger who has been catching the eyes of football fans across the world recently, having shown his outstanding dribbling ability in the Europa League for Tottenham. Moore has been on my radar for a couple of years now, being impressive in Tottenham's youth setup for a while. Most notably, he was England's top scorer in their U17 European Championship campaign with four goals. He also scored 14 goals for Tottenham U18 in their 23/24 Youth Premier League campaign. He has been very impressive in Europe this season, playing well against Ferencvaros and AZ Alkmaar where he played the full 90' and 88' respectively. If he continues at this rate, Moore could be in line for his first senior England cap in 2028, maybe even 2026.
Chris Rigg (17) - Sunderland
Chris Rigg is an exceptional young talent who has been impressing top clubs in England with his performances for Championship side Sunderland. Rigg has 3 goals in 12 league appearances for the Black Cats and can play both central midfield and on the right wing. Rigg is a top dribbler and loves to crash into the box to capitalise on loose balls and deflections. He arguably has the highest ceiling out of all the players on this list and is one of the best creative footballers in the EFL right now. It would not surprise me if we see him feature at the 2026 World Cup should he carry on how he's going, especially if Sunderland get promoted or he gets a big move.
Ethan Nwaneri (17) - Arsenal
Nwaneri is famously the youngest ever Premier League player, making his debut in 2022 at just 15 years and 181 days old against Brentford. Nwaneri has already impressed this season, scoring against Preston and netting a brace in his Man of the Match performance against Bolton in the EFL Cup. He hasn't got his chance in the Premier League yet, only getting a real chance when he got 30 minutes against Newcastle in Arsenal's most recent match. He can play as a winger and a midfielder, providing versatility for Arsenal when they need him. Nwaneri is a good dribbler with a powerful left foot, smashing the ball into the net whilst still being able to place it well. Nwaneri has a very high ceiling and could be an important player for England and Arsenal in the future
My Potential England 2030 Team
In this team, I tried to include plenty of youngsters that I think could get into the side in the future. Trafford (22) and Rushworth (23) are both solid goalkeeper options, Rushworth having a decent spell with Swansea last season and Trafford doing well at Burnley too. England are blessed defensively, having huge talents Lewis Hall (20) and Rico Lewis (19) available for the defensive flanks. Leif Davis (24) could end up in the England team, as they have issues at left back and he hardly puts a foot wrong for Ipswich. Livramento (21) is a solid option at right back and offers something different to Lewis. Quansah and Colwill would be an unbelievable partnership, and Branthwaite (22) is also a very good defender. Guehi (24) has already shown his quality for England and will likely be in the squad for years to come.
Wharton (20) has been labelled as England's very own Busquets, being a cool and composed midfielder with excellent press resistance and ability with both feet, he makes it look so easy. An older Declan Rice (25) would also likely be in the squad. Bellingham (21) has already established himself as a world class superstar, and has to be in the squad for obvious reasons. Chelsea's Kiano Dyer (17) is also an option as he has an extremely high ceiling and seems set for a first team debut sometime soon. Chris Rigg partners Bellingham, with Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly (18) being a versatile talent able to play both in midfield and at left back. He has been getting first team minutes recently and is another top quality talent from Arsenal's youth academy.
Nothing changes on the right wing as Chelsea's superhuman star man Cole Palmer (22) and Arsenal favourite Bukayo Saka (23) appear. On the left we have Mikey Moore (17) and Nwaneri (17) who are both top talents, but i feel that Moore has a higher ceiling and can be England's starting left winger for years to come. Up front is Liam Delap (21) who has been impressive for Ipswich this season having scored 5 goals in 10 games. Delap came up through Manchester City's youth ranks after he was brought in from Derby County in 2019. He is shadowed by Tottenham's Dane Scarlett (20), who is an extremely exciting talent who can also play on the left. Scarlett is currently on loan at Oxford United where he has 3 goals in 10 appearances. Both of these striker options are certainly realistic picks for the 2030 England squad and will be unbelievable should they hit their potential.
A couple of players who almost made the squad are Cobham super talent Tyrique George (18) who can play on both wings and has been getting first team minutes this season, Sunderland's Jobe Bellingham (19) who could potentially partner his brother in England's midfield one day, and Aston Villa winger Samuel Iling-Jr (21) who spent 9 years with Chelsea before moving to Juventus' youth setup and impressing in Italy prior to his Aston Villa switch. All three could definitely make the squad and will likely be great players for their clubs one day.
Overall, England have amazing talents popping up all over and there are some that I haven't mentioned on here that could also end up breaking into the senior England team sometime soon. It seems as if every English club is producing wonderkids at the moment and if all goes well then the only way is up for England, who could likely challenge for the 2026 World Cup under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
Chris Rigg future Ballon dor winner