Harry Kane could be there and Jude Bellingham will be hitting his peak years… but how will England line up at Euro 2028?

• The UK and Ireland have been announced as hosts for Euro 2028 by UEFA 
• Here, Mail Sport’s experts predict how England will line-up for the tournament 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Earlier this week, UEFA confirmed that the UK and Ireland will be the hosts for Euro 2028.

The decision comes after rivals Turkey decided to pull out of the running to focus on Euro 2032 in a joint bid with Italy, which they were subsequently awarded. 

The UK and Ireland focused on a Euro 2028 bid, with UEFA’s approval, when they ended a plan to be Europe’s preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup.

The Three Lions will have five years – and two major tournaments – to get their preparations in order for the event. 

Here, Mail Sport’s experts have predicted how England will line-up at a home European Championship.

Mail Sport’s experts have predicted how England will line-up for the Euro 2028 competition

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Kieran Gill

Predicted XI: Ramsdale; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Colwill, Lewis; Palmer, Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Foden

Manager: Eddie Howe

(Assistant: Jason Tindall, of course)

Here we are, at England’s Euro 2028 opener, and Eddie Howe, now officially joined at the hip to Jason Tindall after a pioneering surgical procedure, has named a strong side to face a Croatian team under the guidance of 42-year-old player-manager Luka Modric. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold and John Stones, now 29 and 34 respectively, have played rock, paper, scissors in the warm-up to see who gets to drift into midfield. Stones wins, despite the newspapers’ concern that he’s too leggy for that role nowadays. 

Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis bring the back four’s average age down a tad, at least. The midfield three of Cole Palmer, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham – on course to win his third Ballon d’Or – have been tearing it up in the Premmy McPremface (fans were allowed to vote for the new name of the Premier League in 2026 and this won by a landslide). 

Harry Kane is now knocking on 35 but flanked by Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, there is no kicking him out of this team after transforming himself into football’s most lethal penalty box poacher.

Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall could be in the dugout for the Three Lions in 2028

Harry Kane has vowed to carrying on playing for England until he’s 40. He will be 34 at the start of the 2028 Euros 

Tom Collomosse 

Predicted XI: Pickford; James, Guehi, Colwill, Buchanan; Wharton, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane. 

Manager: Southgate (2nd time around!)

In all probability, Gareth Southgate will step away as England manager after Euro 2024 but so effective has he been in the role that it is easy to imagine him having a second crack, perhaps after another, more high-profile manager has failed to make a similar success of the role. 

Lee Buchanan and Adam Wharton are two of the brightest talents in the Championship and can fulfil their potential in the coming seasons.

Birmingham’s Lee Buchanan is one of the Championship’s most promising talents

Joe Bernstein

Predicted XI: Ramsdale, Livramento, Stones, Colwill, Lewis, Elliott, Rice, Foden, Saka, Bellingham, Bynoe-Gittens.

Manager: Graham Potter

Five years is a long time in international football. There is more churn than you realise and some of today’s stalwarts could be overtaken by 2028 – even Harry Kane.

Jude Bellingham has become a goalscorer at Real Madrid this season and given the tactical flexibility of the modern game, and no sign that’s going to change, he could be pushed further forward once Kane slows down. 

My wild card is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who is little known in England but has just turned 19 with more than 30 first-team appearances with Borussia Dortmund under his belt.

Borussia Dortmund youngster Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is a rogue shout to make the squad

Craig Hope

Predicted XI: Trafford, Livramento, Guehi, Branthwaite, Hall, Bellingham, Rice, Anderson, Saka, Gordon, Foden

Manager: Frank Lampard 

There’s a strong Newcastle feel to this team – Livramento, Hall, Anderson and Gordon are all uncapped at senior level right now. But I have seen what Eddie Howe does to players in terms of improvement (Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff are currently being talked about with regards England) and I believe any young player who wants to better themselves could not work under a better manager.

The quartet of Rice, Bellingham, Saka and Foden are my pick as England’s core for the next five years, by which point one of Rice or Bellingham will be captain.

A shout too for Jamie Bynoe-Gittens at Dortmund. I saw him play last year and he was excellent. He’ll be on the fringes.

As for manager, I’ll go Frank Lampard, although he needs a job to restore his reputation first.

Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has been tipped to be the England boss in 2028 by one of our experts

Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden will be in their prime come the time of the 2028 tournament

Jack Gaughan

Predicted XI: Pickford; James, Guehi, Colwill; Lewis, Rice; Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Bynoe-Gittens; Kane 

Manager: Pep Guardiola

There is no reason why the likes of John Stones (34), Marcus Rashford (30) and Jack Grealish (32) couldn’t still be in this team, injuries and career trajectory permitting, but for the purposes of this they miss out.

A different style, one that would rely on Reece James perfecting the art of a right-sided centre half. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, currently at Borussia Dortmund, is the wildcard pick on the left wing. He really impressed off the bench on his Under-21 debut last month. Rico Lewis seems destined for central midfield.

I’d be expecting most of Jarrad Branthwaite, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, James Trafford, Cole Palmer, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall and Noni Madueke to be making up a chunk of the squad. There aren’t many No 9s coming through in the age groups so it’ll be interesting to see how long Harry Kane goes on for.

Sami Mokbel

Predicted XI: Pickford; James, Guehi, Colwill, Hall; Rice, Lewis; Bellingham, Saka, Kane, Foden

Kane is on a mission to complete ‘unfinished business’ after this week revealing his intention to lead England to glory at Euro 2028.

National team captain Kane, who is England’s all-time leading goalscorer, will be close to turning 35 when the tournament starts.

When asked whether he will still be playing for England when the competition gets underway, the Bayern Munich striker responded: ‘Hopefully. I am aiming to still be around but it is still a few years away.

‘I am a player who, at the moment, feels as good as I have ever felt before and yes, I would like to think my career will go to my late thirties – at least.’

Guehi and Colwill look every bit future England centre backs and Declan Rice will still only be 29 in 2028. Bellingham, meanwhile, will be just 24.  

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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