How England could have had an unstoppable front three at the World Cup

Analysis

FT Desk

England face DR Congo on Wednesday with a place in the Round of 16 in the World Cup up for grabs.

The Three Lions headed into the tournament with huge expectations to go far under Thomas Tuchel and so far they have been solid if not spectacular, progressing through the group stage top of the standings, defeating Croatia 4-2, drawing 0-0 with Ghana and then beating Panama 2-0.

They have a star-studded attacking line-up, with world-class centre-forward Harry Kane surrounded by the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon, while another top-level player in Jude Bellingham floats between midfield and attack.

If certain circumstances were different, England could very well have gone into this World Cup with an arguably unstoppable attacking roster.

Erling Haaland was born in Leeds

Erling Haaland, for example, was born in England, as his Norwegian father, Alf-Inge Haaland, had just agreed a move from Leeds to Manchester City in the Premier League at the time in 2000. Though he was eligible for the Three Lions, he always wanted to represent Norway, as explained by former England boss Gareth Southgate.

“Obviously at the younger age groups at that time, that wouldn’t have been on my radar, because when he broke into first-team football he was pretty much already in the Norwegian youth system,” Southgate said in 2020.

“We recruit early, but we wouldn’t have been into him when he was still in Yorkshire, that’s for sure.

“We’re always trying to monitor those cases, but I think in that instance he was tied up pretty early by Norway and I think also, with players like him, they’re quite clear where they want to play as well.

“He feels that allegiance to the country that he’s playing for now and you’re always very respectful of that.”

Crucially, following his father's retirement, the family moved back to Norway so Haaland grew up there since the age of three.

"You never know how it would be if maybe my father played longer in England, maybe I would be English, I don't know," the Man City striker previously admitted.

"But yeah, I'm Norwegian and I'm proud of it."

Now, England aren't lacking in the striker department with their greatest ever goalscorer, Kane, leading the line, but how different the team would look with Haaland around...

Michael Olise was born in London

Michael Olise was born in Hammersmith, Greater London, on 12 December 2001 to a British-Nigerian father and Franco-Algerian mother.

His ancestry meant he was eligible to play for France, England, Nigeria and Algeria.

"I actually come from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria and England," he once told Bayern Munich magazine, 51.

"I consider myself very lucky to possess these four parts, which all enrich me. I feel each individual part in me, I've developed attachments in all my countries."

Not a lot of people know that Olise actually spent time in the academies of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City as a young man.

It would be at Reading where he would receive his first taste of senior football and in July of 2021 he signed for Crystal Palace for around £8.37 million.

He would go on to form an exciting partnership with Eberechi Eze as the pair lit up Selhurst Park during their time together, but both were destined for bigger clubs.

Despite numerous suitors in the Premier League, Olise dreamed big and signed for Bayern Munich for around £55 million.

In both of his first seasons, he has helped Bayern to Bundesliga glory.

At the World Cup in North America, Olise is already part of what is considered to be the best attacking in the tournament with France alongside Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Kylian Mbappe, but he very well could have started for England on that right wing, had he declared for the country of his birth.

Antoine Semenyo was born in London

Antoine Semenyo is a bit of a late bloomer in that he earned his first truly big transfer in 2026 when he signed for Man City from Bournemouth. Prior to those clubs, he played for Highworth Town, Bristol City, Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland.

Born in London to parents of Ghanaian descent, it doesn't seem like he was ever on England's radar but he found himself emotionally attached to Ghana from an early age anyway so never had to make the decision on his national team loyalties.

In 2022, he made his senior debut for Ghana and it was only after then his club career took off.

Interestingly, he is eligible to play for France as his mother is from there, but again, there was never any real interest from Les Bleus when he was younger.

"Ghana came at 20, 21? I can't turn down playing first team for Ghana, so it was such an easy decision," he told the 'In The Mixer' podcast.

"No [it was] never a difficult decision. I was never in the England rankings like that anyway. My dad was so happy [when I chose], celebrating.

"He was like: 'Yeah, you didn't play for England!' They were just happy, everyone in my family was so happy. They support Ghana...I couldn't even tell you.

"They watch games and it's crazy; shouting, kicking stuff in the house. It's serious."

England haven't been firing on all cylinders in an attacking sense in this World Cup, and having that front three available certainly would have helped.

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FT Desk

FootballTransfers' desk

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