Gareth Barry on Thomas Tuchel advice, England squad picks and World Cup: 'He’ll be fighting'

With 653 Premier League matches and 53 England caps to his name, not many footballers know more about performing at the highest level than Gareth Barry.

Barry, who held the record for most Premier League appearances until James Milner broke it in February, was picked by eight different England managers over a 12-year period between 2000 and 2012, even captaining the Three Lions once in 2010.

He did not, of course, get to experience success on the international stage in that time, and the former Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Brom midfielder, as many have before him, admitted there was a divide in the England camp that did not help.

“There were big games, Liverpool v Chelsea, Liverpool v Manchester United… for me, you could feel [a divide],” he admitted. “You could feel the lads sticking together with their club-mates. That just isn’t the recipe for success at international level.”

But with just one month until the 2026 World Cup, Barry says the current England set-up should not fear anyone despite the likes of France, Spain and Portugal also boasting talented squads.

On Monday (May 11), England must submit a provisional release list to FIFA containing up to 55 players.

And although this list is not made public, it’s safe to say certain names – such as Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford and Declan Rice – will be on it.

But several positions will no doubt still be up for grabs in the 26-man squad ahead of the Three Lions’ journey to North America.

Central midfield and the No.10 role are particular areas of debate among fans and pundits, with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers all vying for the same position - and Morgan Gibbs-White, James Maddison and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall lower down the pecking order.

Barry names ideal England midfield

But who does Barry believe should start in England’s midfield for the first group match against Croatia in Arlington, Texas, on June 17?

Speaking to SPORTbible, on behalf of Midnite, the 45-year-old said: “I think if you could find the right discipline, the three that I’d probably go with would definitely be Declan Rice sitting.

“I’d have Morgan Rogers as the No.10, and if we could get Bellingham playing that role a bit more as an 8, box-to-box, I’d probably just give him the edge over Elliot Anderson, just because he’s a big-game player.

“He loves those moments and can make the difference. So yeah, between those four — but I think it’s always hard to leave Jude Bellingham out of the team at the moment.”

Of course, between now and then, any one of the aforementioned players could lose form or sustain an injury, which may create opportunities for those on the periphery of Thomas Tuchel’s squad.

When asked who else could nab themselves an unlikely spot in the squad, Barry was quick to praise Everton midfielder James Garner, who has shone since David Moyes’ arrival on Merseyside in January 2025, although he suggested it may be a straight shoot-out between Anderson and the Toffees man.

Barry said: “Yeah, I think being in a 26-man squad gives James Garner that bit more chance, if you like. In terms of the way they play, there aren’t too many dissimilar styles, but I just think Anderson has the edge. He’ll have just the fact that he’s been trusted in the qualifiers and he’s played more games.

“And, you know, he seems to have won Tuchel over a bit more. But for Garner, he’s obviously impressed in an England shirt now. He’s shown he can do it at that level in that one game.

“If he finishes the season strongly, he’s definitely in the conversation to be on the plane. So yeah, for me, just keep your head down if you’re James Garner and finish the season strongly — you’ve got a good chance. But there are, I should say, a big pool of players there who are looking for that opportunity as well.”

“I like [Adam] Wharton’s style at Palace,” Barry added. “You know, I thought he might have got a few more minutes for England. So, again, he’ll be looking to finish the season strongly, and he’ll be fighting.”

Biggest difference between English and foreign coaches

Attention then turned back to Barry’s own experience as an England player, with the former midfielder detailing the biggest difference between foreign and English managers having played under Kevin Keegan, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello during his international career.

“Kevin Keegan was one of the most passionate men I probably knew and worked under," Barry said. "You could just feel he was desperate. He wore his heart on his sleeve for England.

“I’m not saying that foreign managers aren’t going to have that. They’re going to be as desperate as he was to win a game of football.

“But Kevin Keegan gave me my England debut and was passionate right to the end — from the time he called me up to the squad to the time he said he was calling it a day as England manager. Passion just ran through him. So that would be the difference.”

World Cup advice for Tuchel

So what does Tuchel, a proven elite manager, need to do to bring success?

Barry believes the German picking players in the “right positions” is more important than the individual talent throughout the squad.

“I think the number of players we’ve got to pick from now is as big as ever,” he said.

“That’s showing that England have got a lot of quality there. For me, Tuchel’s got to find not the most talented players, he’s got to find the players in the right position, doing their job in the right position. So that’s the key to success, the key thing, the key factor he’s got to get right this summer. So that would be a big job, him finding that out.”

Midnite, one of the fastest-growing betting and casino companies in the world, has proven that it really is BUILT DIFFERENT, by becoming the first betting app to place a bet in space. The bet in question backed England to win the World Cup, and was placed by former England midfielder Gareth Barry.