In light of Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad announcement yesterday, we look at what the team may look like if it was made up entirely of just English Football League (EFL) players. This ranges from the Championship to League One and League Two, with the second tier the predominant force in this highly hypothetical and extremely subjective XI.
One Rule – All three leagues must be represented in our EFL England Squad.
Or Read 4 Players Unlucky to Miss Out On Thomas Tuchel’s England Announcement
Or our Non-Big-Six England XI
Who Would Be In Thomas Tuchel’s EFL England XI?
Goalkeeper – James Trafford (Burnley)
The 22-year-old from Cumbria has come of age this season and deservedly makes this EFL England squad in between the sticks. He was announced as the fourth keeper pick in today’s official squad announcement, with his Lancashire side pushing for automatic promotion back to the Premier League under Scott Parker.
Trafford, who came through Man City’s youth system, helped Burnley keep 13 consecutive clean sheets in the Championship at one juncture this campaign, and they have lost just twice in the league overall.
EFL England Squad Defenders
Centre-backs – Carl Piergianni (Stevenage) & Kyle McFadzean (Chesterfield)
This centre-half partnership has an abundance of experience in the EFL. Piergianni is now 32 years old but has had long spells at Salford City, Oldham Athletic and now Stevenage in the last eight years. His aerial presence in both boxes makes him a sizeable target from set pieces. In his first full season in Hertfordshire, he made 55 appearances, scoring eight goals, the majority of which were headers. The club earned promotion to League One that season, and Piergianni was named in the EFL League Two team of the season.
Alongside the commanding Piergianni is Kyle McFadzean, who has endured an impressive EFL career over the last two decades. Now nearing 40, McFadzean has stepped down to League Two to play for Chesterfield but, unfortunately, suffered a serious knee injury in his third appearance. He still makes this squad, though, namely for his time at Coventry City from 2019 to 2024.
He made over 150 appearances for the Sky Blues and appeared in the side’s playoff final loss to Luton Town in 2023. Primarily for his longevity in the EFL, McFadzean makes this England EFL team, renowned for his no-nonsense defending and vocal presence on the pitch.
Full-backs – Harrison Burrows (Sheffield United) & Jayden Bogle (Leeds)
Our two full-backs reside at the summit of the Championship table with their respective sides. As a former winger/wing-back, Chris Wilder has converted Burrows into a left-back in his line ups this season. Burrows came up through the Peterborough Academy since the age of six and made 148 appearances for the first team. Whilst only scoring 14 times for The Posh, Burrows did net twice in six minutes against Wycombe in the 2024 EFL Trophy Final as captain. Subsequently, the 23-year-old was named in the League One team of the season last year and signed for The Blades over the summer for an undisclosed fee.
On the right flank, Jayden Bogle gets the nod as he nears 200 cumulative appearances in his senior career. Born in Reading, Bogle has had stints at Derby and then Sheffield United before joining Leeds United on a four-year contract last summer.
Daniel Farke’s playstyle at Elland Road has allowed Jayden to display his attacking talent, and he has been seen sprinting up and down the sidelines in the Championship all season. His six goal contributions testify to his knack for getting in the opposition’s final third.
Midfielders
Centre-Midfielders – Matt Grimes (Coventry City) & Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland)
The presence of skilled midfielders in the EFL made this a difficult task. Grimes completed one of the biggest mid-season intra-league transfers from Swansea to Coventry in January. Grimes was a stalwart for the Swans, making over 300 appearances over a decade. His ability to dictate play box-to-box seemingly won over Frank Lampard in the West Midlands. Coventry’s renewed playoff push will only be possible through Grimes’ tenacity.
The defensive mind of Grimes is accompanied by the younger of the Bellingham brothers. The experience, accompanied by the youth, makes this duo have limitless potential. Jobe is still just 19 years of age and has had to reside in the shadows of his slightly older brother, Jude.
Coming up through Birmingham, Bellingham made the move to Sunderland in 2023 and has his life ahead of him still. His playstyle heavily emulates his brothers’, an innate ability to carry the ball through the pitch and pick out audacious passing with impressive awareness. It runs in the family, clearly.
Wingers/Wide Forwards – Jay Stansfield (Birmingham) & Josh Windass (Sheffield Wednesday)
Stansfield has been one of the standout players in League One this season. But despite only being 22 years old, he was the subject of the record transfer deal for a club in the third tier. The move from Fulham to Birmingham in the summer of 2024 followed a season-long loan to the Blues.
He already has 16 goals this season as Birmingham looks to return to the Championship. His call-up to the England U-21 squad suggests the reported £15 million price tag could be a steal for Blues if he carries on in this form going forward.
Experience and youth was the required concoction for this EFL England team, and these two wingers personify that method. Josh Windass, the son of Dean, is typically viewed as an attacking midfielder. But with this archetypal British formation of 4-4-2, he slots in on the right-hand wing. After spells at Wigan and Accrington earlier on in his career, Windass has now been at Wednesday for the best part of five years.
Following a short loan spell, Windass joined the South Yorkshire outfit permanently and has gone on to make nearly 150 appearances to date, scoring 41 goals. Now in his early thirties, Windass has been instrumental to the Owls, who have bounced around in between the Championship and League One.
Strikers
Strikers – Sam Smith (Wrexham)
Rounding off this EFL England team with a deadly strike partnership. Sam Smith made the move in January from playoff hopefuls Reading to promotion hopefuls Wrexham. He has 13 goals in League One this campaign for both sides combined and has been on an upward trend in recent years. The supposed fee that Wrexham paid was substantial, as they wanted to bolster their forward talent mid-season, adding to veterans Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher.
Michael Cheek (Bromley)
It could be argued that other English EFL strikers should be ahead of Michael Cheek in this hypothetical scenario, but it felt prudent to spotlight Cheek’s prowess in League Two this season. After beginning his career at Stanway Rovers in the Essex Senior League in 2008, Cheek has played for several non-league outfits and found himself at Bromley in 2019.
They are making their EFL debut this year after promotion last May. Cheek is the joint top scorer with 17 goals as well as six assists, with Bromley unexpectedly threatening the playoffs. At 33, Michael has taken his overall tally for Bromley to north of 120. Overall, just an impressive career that has culminated in a glittering campaign for him and Bromley and a great story for non-league football.
Final EFL England XI
That rounds off the starting XI of this EFL England team with 11 players spanning the entirety of the EFL.
Thomas Tuchel’s Real England Announcement is here.