Glenn Hoddle and Joe Hart give verdict on England's FIFA World Cup hopes of glory - 'We are good enough to win it'
Published 25/03/2026 at 16:41 GMT
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TNT Sports experts and former England internationals Glenn Hoddle and Joe Hart have discussed The Three Lions' chances of ending 60 years of hurt by winning the FIFA World Cup this summer. England will play Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L when the tournament gets underway. England reached the quarter-finals four years ago before being eliminated by losing finalists France.
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Will England end their 60 years of hurt at the FIFA World Cup this summer?
Thomas Tuchel’s team will get their World Cup campaign under way against Group L rivals Croatia on June 17, and TNT Sports experts Glenn Hoddle and Joe Hart agree that they have the talent to go toe-to-toe with anyone.
England were eliminated in the quarter-finals by France at the 2022 World Cup and have not won the tournament since their lone triumph in 1966.
However, with the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer included in Tuchel’s squad for this month’s international break, former England goalkeeper Hart believes they are a match for any side.
”It’s hard to be confident if you are really honest,” said Hart on The Breakdown. ”Not because they are not good enough, it's just that the past says that it is so difficult to do.
”If you line them up pound-for-pound as a straight-up shoot-out, then they are good enough to take on anyone in the world.
”It is just, are the stars going to align this summer?"
England will take on Ghana in their second group game on June 23 before facing Panama on June 27.
The Three Lions are one of the favourites to win in Canada, USA and Mexico after reaching the final of Euro 2024 and impressing during FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Hoddle believes England will need to banish the demons of the past if they are to lift the trophy this summer.
The former England manager said: ”They have the ability, so now they have to have the mental approach to say ‘we are going to win this’.”
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”Now that is the big question mark inside the camp.
”You can say it but you have got to mean it in here [in the heart] and you have got to have that energy.
”Everything you do in that period of time is about winning the World Cup.
”You make your own luck in the semi-final, you make your own luck in the final, and if you have that mentality going into it, you get lucky.
”We are good enough to win it. It is whether we kick ourselves in the heels again and trip ourselves up because there is this little burden since 1966. We have got to cut away from it all.”
As a former England international and manager, Hoddle knows about World Cup heartbreak.
He was a part of the thrilling clash with Argentina at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where Diego Maradona scored two of the most iconic goals in the history of the game.
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‘I’ve never blamed Maradona’ – Hoddle on ‘dreadful’ feeling after Hand of God
Video credit: TNT Sports
The first, known as ‘The Hand of God’, saw the Argentina legend clearly use his hand to prod the ball past Peter Shilton, much to the disgust of English players and fans alike.
England went on to lose the game 2-1 after the ‘Goal of the Century’, which saw Maradona dribble through five England players to score a stunning solo effort.
Despite being eliminated in the quarter-finals, Hoddle says he does not hold any hard feelings against Maradona.
”For me, I have never blamed Maradona; it is the referee and the linesman; it was down to one of them,” he added. ”They should have seen it.
”A lot of the players thought he had headed it, you know. I actually saw his hand just punch it before Peter Shilton got there.
”So, my instinct was to look at the linesman because he was level with it.
”When I saw him turn and run back towards the halfway line, I looked at the referee, and he is now turning to run back to the halfway line.
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”My gut just churned, it turned, I was chasing him, and I was holding my hand, screaming, ‘Handball, handball.
”I knew my mind was telling me that he was not changing his mind.
”I knew the altitude was a problem because I couldn’t catch the referee.
”I got to the halfway line, and I was still saying to the referee, pleading with him, it was handball. It was the most dreadful I have felt on a football pitch, I have got to say.”
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