A 'mental' block stands between England and glory at 2026 World Cup, says former manager Glenn Hoddle

The Three Lions travel to this summer's tournament - which will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico - as one of the favourites.

But after latter-stage exits at international tournaments in recent years, the question will be, can England lift their first World Cup trophy since 1966 or will they once again fall short?

And to overcome that final hurdle, former England player and manager Hoddle thinks overcoming their "psychological" block around knockout football will be key for Thomas Tuchel's men.

"We've come so close to getting over the line and winning the trophy. And I do think it's at the mental level where we've just had that block," the 68-year-old said.

"I would be working very much so on the mental side and having that real knowing that we're a very good side."

Hoddle stressed that Tuchel should be working on getting his players to believe how good they are and eradicating any doubt.

"We've got to really work at ourselves really because I don't really feel that they believe they're as good as they are," he explained.

"But it's a mental side where you've got to get across to these players, particularly this group of players that they've got: 'You're better than most of these teams, you actually don't believe it at the moment, but you can go out there and take on anyone.' And that's why they're going to be one of the favourites to win it, and rightly so."

England have narrowly missed out on glory in three out of the last four international tournaments.

They have been twice beaten finalists in the two most recent Euros, and lost in the semi-finals to Croatia at the 2018 World Cup.

This will be the first tournament under Tuchel, and he has a star-studded squad to pick from, with players in form travelling to North America.

And TNT Sports analysts Joe Hart and Joleon Lescott believe England have the potential to go all the way this summer.

"They're an unbelievable squad, as good as all the other squads out there," Hart said.

"Factors for them getting there are all the top players playing to their level, finding cohesion. It's not easy. I've been a part of it, you just expect good players to play well together.

"But as when we finally get to the summer, it'll probably be the first time that we'll have had this particular squad and everyone just knowing where they stand and stepping up in certain moments is going to be the factor because injuries will occur, sendings off, stuff will happen in games where you're going to need people to come out of the ordinary.

"Thomas Tuchel will have planned for everything, I'm sure. The lads will be trained, well drilled, but it's just how you react to kind of adverse situations will be the deciding factor of whether they can get over the line."

For Lescott, he expects England to reach the semi-finals "at least".

"And then again when you get to that level, you can't just assume that we're going to go on to win," Lescott said.

"I hope we do, yes, but that's when you're at the stage of the competition where everyone has top players, world class players, and there's no divine right for anyone to win.

"So the semi-finals is kind of where it's up in the air for me. But up until that, we're strong, we have a lot of quality.

"Obviously the way the land lies in terms of who you play at the group stages, you can never predict, but progressing through the stages, I'm confident we have more than enough to do that."

Lescott added that his favourites for the 2026 World Cup are France, highlighting their strength in depth as a reason they should go far.

"But then when you get to the semi-finals, I can't look past France," the 43-year-old said.

"I think England's XI is as strong as anyone's. But then I think France have a 15–16-man squad that is equally as strong, and I'm not sure other nations have that."

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