Which players in England's World Cup squad are truly 'world-class'?

Former England international Gary Neville sparked debate last week after claiming that Harry Kane was the only world-class talent in the squad.

"He's a star," Neville told ITV. 

"You talk about England having talented players, but we have one genuinely world-class player and that is Harry Kane."

That assessment is quite worrying for a nation with hopes of winning the World Cup - but how accurate is it?

Here, Flashscore takes a look at which members of the England squad could be placed in the world-class debate.

Can anyone touch Kane?

Kane has netted 79 goals in 114 appearances for England and is their all-time top scorer. On top of that, he has netted over 500 across his career for club and country.

Neville wasn't wrong in saying that the 32-year-old is the standout talent in the Three Lions' squad, but is anyone else operating on a remotely similar level at the moment?

To put it bluntly, no, not quite. But Kane's goalscoring record and current form are untouchable for almost any player on the planet, regardless of their nationality.

Of course, football stretches far beyond just goals and individuals can make an impact in a variety of other ways, but goals are understandably the easiest way to measure how good forward players actually are.

In terms of goalscoring, no one comes close to Kane. If there were anyone on a similar level, England would probably be the favourites to win the World Cup.

So what about outside of that? Both Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham have incredible talent in midfield and could genuinely be considered among the best in their positions.

Where English midfielders often fall short in these debates is that they aren't as eye-catching as some of the other top talents like Pedri, Vitinha or Joao Neves.

But Rice and Bellingham are both capable of impacting matches at the highest level on their own and, certainly in Rice's case, are indispensable to England's starting XI.

A Premier League winner with Arsenal, Rice is the next closest thing the Three Lions have to 'world-class', admittedly in a different way to Kane.

He doesn't put up insane goalscoring numbers, but the Englishman is highly influential at both ends of the pitch. A respectable four goals and six assists, along with 63 chances created, 534 passes into the final third, 624 carries and 145 duels won in the Premier League last season highlight his impact in key areas of the game.

Bellingham, meanwhile, has played a starring role for Real Madrid and is already a La Liga and Champions League winner aged 22.

It feels like he can often be forgotten in conversations around England's best players, and the youngster can divide opinion among fans, but his talent and habit of popping up in big moments are undeniable.

The midfielder scored an overhead kick to rescue the game against Slovakia in the dying minutes of the match at Euro 2024, and has netted winning goals against Barcelona during his short stint in Madrid so far.

Those two midfielders can certainly be considered as some of the world's best talents and should be mentioned when talking about England's own world-class players.

'On his day'

While the Three Lions may not have many truly world-class players, they do have plenty that fit the phrase 'on their day'.

Those are stars who, on the right occasion, can deliver the standard of performance you might associate with the best in the world.

Bukayo Saka, while prone to going missing sometimes, will deliver top showings more often than not. Marcus Rashford also fits that bill, with the two wingers capable of changing games on their own.

The Arsenal forward is perhaps a lot closer to world-class than his Manchester United counterpart, but the point is that neither quite puts up the numbers consistently enough to be considered the absolute best in their positions.

They do, however, possess world-class ability. Saka has been a star player throughout Arsenal's ascent to the Premier League title, amassing 81 goals and 81 assists since becoming a first-team regular in 2020.

Quite a few others also fit that bill in the England squad and that is something to get excited over rather than the cause for concern that some pundits seem keen to portray it as.

Another name to mention is Reece James; the Chelsea defender was once tipped to be the best right-back in the world before injuries slowed down his progression.

He is fully fit now, though, and has shown no sign of his performance levels dipping below what they once were. In fact, you would struggle to find too many players better than him in his position at the World Cup.

Then, you get to veterans like John Stones and Jordan Pickford. They are two different examples of the sort of talent in the squad; Stones has barely played this season, but throughout his career has proved himself as a top-level defender in the world's biggest competitions.

Pickford, meanwhile, has shown time and again how good a goalkeeper he is on the big stage with England despite not playing in the major European competitions at club level with Everton.

Thomas Tuchel has plenty of talent to call upon at both ends of the pitch throughout the tournament. Granted, it isn't as much as the likes of France or Spain, but there's enough in the squad to be optimistic over the Three Lions' chances in North America.

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