*THE INSIDE STORY OF ENGLAND'S BLUEPRINT TO WIN THE 2026 WORLD CUP*

*Written by the European Football Writer of the Year and the Chief Football Correspondent at the Sunday Times*

Under the stewardship of Gareth Southgate and captained by Harry Kane, a cultural transformation saw England reach two finals, a semi-final and a quarter-final in four tournaments. Now, with Thomas Tuchel at the helm, the team and its playing style has evolved once more. After years of intricate planning and preparation, they come into the 2026 World Cup as genuine contenders with a star-studded squad that's the envy of the world. How did we get here?

Inside England: Behind the Scenes of the Three Lions' World Cup Dream charts the progress from Gareth Southgate's appointment, including the dizzying highs and the near-misses of his tenure, the fallout post-Euro 2024, the FA's search for a successor and how Thomas Tuchel shaped a team in his image. Bestselling and award-winning football writers Jonathan Northcroft and Rob Draper have had extraordinary access to the England team during both manager's reigns and take us behind the scenes to give the complete account of the sea change that has taken place throughout the entire England set up over the last decade.

For the first time, this is the real story of England's evolution both on and off the pitch, revealing how Southgate and Tuchel inched the team ever closer to their ultimate dream: winning the World Cup.

Jonathan Northcroft (Author)
Jonathan Northcroft has been the Chief Football Correspondent at the Sunday Times since 2009 and is a frequent contributor to Sky Sports, BBC, BT and TalkSport football programmes. Inaugural winner of the Jim Rodger Memorial Award for young sports writers in Scotland, he has written books on modern football journalism, England's rebirth at the 2018 World Cup, Leicester City's 2015-16 title miracle and collaborated with Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel on his Sunday Times bestselling autobiography One.

Rob Draper (Author)
Rob Draper is the European Football Writer of the Year 2023 and previously Sports Journalist Association Football Reporter of the Year and Social Media Journalist of the Year. Formerly the Mail on Sunday's Chief Football Writer, Rob now writes for the Guardian. Rob has collaborated with Gary Neville on the Sunday Times Bestseller The People's Game and is co-author of Class of 92: Out of our League along with Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.