We simulated England's Euro 2032 squad and the results are pretty interesting.
England suffered yet more major tournament heartbreak on Sunday when they lost 2-1 to Spain in the final of Euro 2024.
The Three Lions were looking to end their 58-year trophy drought by winning the European Championship for the first time, but an 86th minute goal from Mikel Oyarzabal dashed those hopes.
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England underwhelmed for much of the tournament, with both players and manager attracting criticism.
England will look to reach a third successive Euros final when they co-host the 2028 tournament with Ireland. Four years later, Euro 2032 will be hosted by Italy and Turkey.
By then, England's squad will look pretty different to the one we've seen in Germany this summer.
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Using Football Manager, SPORTbible attempted to predict how England’s squad could look eight years from now, and the results were pretty remarkable.
For starters, the simulation predicted that the England manager will be current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, sacked by Bayern Munich in 2029 after just one season in charge.
According to FM, Arteta's England squad will look like this.
Goalkeepers
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A 34-year-old Aaron Ramsdale will England’s no.1 for the tournament after re-establishing himself as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper in the latter stages of Arteta’s time at Arsenal.
Football Manager predicted that no other current England goalkeepers managed to make the step up to international level as the back up shot stoppers were both computer-generated players.
Defenders
In defence, only one computer-generated player made the cut as Premier League stars dominated the selection. England’s starting centre-backs were Callum Doyle, who spent last season on loan at Leicester from Manchester City, and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
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Chelsea star Levi Colwill started at left-back with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold the first-choice at right-back. Man City’s Rico Lewis was selected as well as Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.
Midfielders
Further up the field, Mason Mount was a surprise pick in the squad aged 35 and still plying his trade for Manchester United.
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He was a key player for England at the tournament, featuring in six games. Unsurprisingly, Jude Bellingham, who would be 29 at the time, Declan Rice and Phil Foden were still mainstays in the team.
Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott were both included in the squad but did not make a single appearance.
Bournemouth star Alex Scott also made the cut while Bayern Munich ace Michael Olise opted to pledge his international allegiance to England having not played for the France senior side, and was rewarded with a place in the squad.
Attackers
At the top end of the pitch, Arteta sprung some major surprises. He opted to pick one man he was extremely familiar with as Brighton youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry - formerly of Arsenal - joined the senior squad alongside Bukayo Saka and Rashford who returned to the fold to play a starring role.
Norwich youngster Jonathan Rowe also booked his place on the flight alongside a son of a Premier League legend. Shaqueel van Persie, who is eligible for both England and the Netherlands, opted to represent the Three Lions and was selected as the team’s back up striker.
Results
Unfortunately for England fans, the tournament ended in heart-break again. Arteta’s side reached the final of the competition but lost out to France, who emerged 3-2 victors with goals from Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and Randal Kolo Muani cancelling out strikes from Bellingham and Rashford.
England’s Euro 2032 Euro squad predicted by Football Manager in full:
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Reece Jones (REGEN), Gerry Duggan (REGEN)
Defenders
Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Callum Doyle (Man City), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Reece James (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Daniel Graham (REGEN), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton)
Midfielders
Declan Rice (Arsenal), Mason Mount (Man Utd), Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Phil Foden (Man City), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool)
Forwards
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jonathan Rowe (Norwich), Amario Cozier-Duberry (Arsenal), Shaqueel van Persie (Feyenoord)
Topics: England, Football Manager, UEFA, Football, Gareth Southgate, Mikel Arteta, Jude Bellingham
Alex Brotherton