If you could drop prime Teddy Sheringham into any squad at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there would be no shortage of tempting options. And plenty of takers.

France have attacking talent everywhere. Argentina are the reigning champions. Brazil remain Brazil, even if not that Brazil. Portugal have experience and firepower. Spain continue to be one of the tournament’s most technically gifted teams.

Yet when asked which national team he would most like to lead the line for this summer, the former England striker had a surprisingly simple answer.

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Why Sheringham would pick England

Despite acknowledging the strength of several of the tournament favorites, Sheringham told ComeOn that the energy and intensity being shown by Thomas Tuchel’s England side make them the team he’d most want to be part of.

“France are strong. Spain didn’t look great the way they played against Cabo Verde but I think they’ll be decent when the tough times come around,” he said (ahead of them demolishing Saudi Arabia in the second game).

“Then you have Brazil and Argentina and Portugal as well. There’s probably six, six, seven, eight teams that can win the World Cup this summer but I’d like to be playing for England at the moment because of the all round energy that they’re showing.”

“If they can carry that on, even in this hot climate, other nations won’t be able to handle that if we play with such intensity, so I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else.”

Sheringham also knows exactly which current England players he’d enjoy playing alongside.

“I love the way Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice play those slide rule passes into the forwards so I’d like to be playing alongside them for England,” he said.

“It looks like Jude Bellingham has got the bit between his teeth too at the minute.”

The former Manchester United and Tottenham striker went even further when discussing England’s midfield options.

“England have a fantastic midfield if they can keep that energy and power levels high and the way they can control the ball too.”

“It can be the best midfield at the World Cup this summer so why would I want to play with anyone else?”

The dangers of social media for England players

Away from the pitch, Sheringham was also asked about the pressures facing modern footballers, particularly in an age of constant social media scrutiny.

“We only had to read the paper to get criticised,” he said.

“Now you see it with every opportunity you have to pick the phone up, and we all know how much we all pick our phones up to have a little scroll.”

His advice to England’s players during the tournament is straightforward.

“But that’s up to the players of today to be strong and just listen to one man, because there’s only one man that matters and for England that’s Thomas Tuchel.”

“Put your phone away for the next six weeks and enjoy the ride. That’s the way I see it.”

Sheringham also suggested that social media opinions should be treated with caution.

“It must be tough because you know what social media’s like. People don’t even watch the game and they’ve got an opinion.”

“I never worried about people like that when I was playing because I could see people in the pub facing the other way and not even watching the telly and still turning round and seeing England are losing and saying they’re crap.”

Only listen to those who matter

For Sheringham, the principle has not changed.

“It’s who you choose to listen to, and when you’re in professional football you should only listen to the people that matter.”

And when it comes to judging strikers, he believes many fans forget the hardest part is getting into position in the first place.

“Whenever you look at chances that were missed, I might be standing in the pub and someone says Teddy, you’d have scored that, but I missed numerous great chances too.”

“What’s more important for a striker is that you have to keep putting yourself in the position and hopefully more often than not you score the goals, because that’s why you’re picked at that level.”

“You can always criticise a player and say well how did they miss that? But first you’ve got to be there.”

“You’ve probably done a lot of running to get yourself in that position and maybe your energy just ran out at the wrong time. It’s very easy to criticise from the side of the pitch.”

England are in Group L with Croatia, Ghana and Panama.

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