Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid expects England to 'choke again' at 2026 World Cup

Martin Macdonald

• 2 Oct 2025 16:50 CDT
• 2 min read

News

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid doesn't think England have what it takes to win the 2026 World Cup, which will take placed in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The basketball player, a noted soccer fan, was recently asked about England's chances by the BBC, and he replied:

"Obviously, I’m a big football fan so I’m excited. I want to go to as many games as possible, so we’ll see the schedule.

"I’ll just show up to a random stadium.

"I mean, France has had the best team, you know? Spain’s got a chance, obviously.

"England? England is gonna choke again. That happens every single time.

"They’ve technically got the best team. As far as talent, on paper, it looks good."

Embiid was then asked which club he supports, and he provided two.

"Real Madrid and Arsenal," the NBA superstar responded.

England at the World Cup

England won the 1966 World Cup but since then they have failed to reach another final. Indeed, the Three Lions have only ever made the final of the tournament on that one occasion.

They have reached the semi-final on three occasions, including 1966.

They lost the other two, against West Germany at Italia 90 and versus Croatia at the 2018 competition in Russia.

At the the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by France.

They have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage on six occasions.

The player with the most World Cup goals for England is Gary Lineker, who scored on 10 occasions for his country.

As for appearances, Peter Shilton leads the way with 17 across three tournaments.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store