Supercomputer Predicts How England Will do at 2026 World Cup

A new era of the England national team is upon us with ex-Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel being announced as Gareth Southgate’s long-term successor. Regarded as one of the best managers in the world, his appointment has been met with a range of reaction.

Some, such as Gary Neville and Harry Redknapp, are against the hire, with the latter suggesting that he wanted ‘an Englishman to manage England’. Others, including Piers Morgan and Rio Ferdinand, have backed the German in the hotseat, lauding his ‘impressive’ press conference at Wembley.

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Nonetheless, after putting pen to paper on an initial 18-month deal, the Krumbach-born tactician will start his mammoth job at the turn of the year to ensure that his focus remains solely on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and then, hopefully, adding another star to ‘our shirt’.

A supercomputer from SimWorldCup, per The Sun, has predicted how Tuchel will fare at the World Cup in North America, despite not even qualifying at the time of writing.

Supercomputer Predicts England’s World Cup Run

Tuchel to surpass Southgate’s best-ever effort

As mentioned, Tuchel and England’s new-look entourage are still yet to embark on their World Cup qualifying campaign, but he has suggested that he “doesn’t feel” the weight of the expectation, despite being in one of the hardest jobs in football. The German is, obviously, confident in his own abilities – and the supercomputer has also backed his quality with him surpassing Southgate’s best ever World Cup attempt in his first attempt in the Wembley dugout.

The Three Lions, according to the supercomputer, topped their group, which consisted of South Korea, Paraguay and South Africa. Even more impressively, Tuchel’s men secured passage into the last 32 by winning all three outings.

A 3-0 win over Paraguay in their 2026 World Cup opener followed by a 2-0 victory over South Korea saw them in the driving seat as they enter their final group game against South Africa. The supercomputer predicts that it will end 4-0 to the Three Lions with them not conceding throughout.

A proven knockout rounds specialist, Tuchel – and his assistant manager Anthony Barry, who has worked for the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich – will breeze through his Round of 32 fixture against Panama with a 2-1 win, with his side conceding their first goal of the tournament.

The USMNT, perhaps still managed by Mauricio Pochettino, have been predicted to be England’s Last 16 opponents. Once again, Tuchel’s men have been predicted to progress with ease, beating the hosts 3-0, before facing Belgium in the competition’s quarter-finals.

A narrow 2-1 victory over the Red Devils sees them reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1966. But that’s where England’s 2026 World Cup comes to a lamentable end – in a 2-1 defeat to their Euro 2024 foes, Spain. In the third place play-off, Tuchel masterminds a 1-0 win over the World Cup’s first-ever champions, Uruguay. Meanwhile, Spain are eliminated by Argentina in the final of the competition, as La Albiceleste are crowned champions of the world for a fourth time.

How England Have Fared at Previous World Cups

Southgate’s best finish was fourth place in 2018

It’s certainly no secret that England have notoriously struggled to get a trophy over the line since Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning side in 1966. The Three Lions, with millions of eyes on their backs, have reached back-to-back European Championships finals – but have lost both.

In 2021, they lost via a penalty shoot-out to Italy. In 2024, they lost 2-1 to Luis De La Fuente’s Spain in what was a dismal evening for Three Lions’ fans after experiencing heartbreak for the second time on the bounce.

Since the turn of the millennium, England’s pursuit of World Cup glory has not been entirely fruitful. In both 2002 and 2006, the respective quarter-final stage was the ending moment, while the 2010 iteration in South Africa – under the stewardship of Fabio Capello, the nation’s highest-paid manager of all-time – saw England fail to get out of the group stage.

Roy Hodgson was in charge during the 2014 World Cup – one that ended in the group stages after England failed to win any of their three opening matches – a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica followed losses to Italy and Uruguay, which both finished 2-1.

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Southgate, during his maiden tournament as England chief, led his nation to a fourth-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup. The Three Lions bravely bowed out to Croatia in the semi-final but didn’t manage to get the better of Belgium in the third place play-off.

In the competition’s most recent instalment, England – after a relatively comfortable group stage campaign and a 3-0 win over Senegal in the Round of 16 – managed to reach the quarter-finals against France.

A late goal from Olivier Giroud saw Didier Deschamps’ men, who lost the final to Argentina in one of the most intense international matches in football history, run away with a 2-1 victory. The question is: can Tuchel be the man to bring football home 60 years after Ramsey’s starring moment?