England boast most valuable squad at FIFA World Cup suggests CIES
June 11 – England head into the 2026 World Cup as the most valuable squad in global football, according to new data from the CIES Football Observatory – even with a wealth of talent left at home.
Based on estimated transfer values of selected players, England’s squad tops the ranking at €1.454 billion, narrowly edging France (€1.436 billion) and Spain (€1.407 billion) in what is an exceptionally tight race at the summit.
The figures underline just how finely balanced the leading nations are when measured through market valuation as much as tournament pedigree – though the valuation does drop almost €400m to fourth (Germany, €1.085 billion).
The overall financial scale of the expanded World Cup is striking. With 16 more teams mixed in to the competition format, the combined estimated value of all squads rises to €18.1 billion – an increase of €3.1 billion compared with Qatar 2022.
Yet, whilst that jump looks good on paper, the average squad value per nation has actually fallen to €377 million, down from €469 million in 2022, reflecting the widening base of qualification and the inclusion of lower-valued emerging football nations.
At the very top end, the market is heavily concentrated. Only two players worldwide are currently valued above €200 million: Spain’s Lamine Yamal, leading the global market at €358 million, and Norway striker Erling Haaland at €227 million. Their presence alone highlights how individual generational talents can somewhat distort squad-level economics – particularly in Haaland’s case as he makes up more than a third of Norway’s valuation by himself (35.2%).
At the other end of the spectrum, Iran are listed as the lowest-valued qualified nation with a total squad estimate of just €12 million, followed closely by Iraq (€13 million) and Jordan (€15 million). Yet the report also notes the competitive upside of such disparities, with standout tournament performances historically acting as springboards for players moving into higher-value European leagues.
Back to the top of the table the data identifies Morgan Rogers as England’s most valuable player at €137 million, despite the expectation he would operate primarily in a squad role behind Jude Bellingham rather than as a guaranteed starter.
It is a reflection not only of England’s extraordinary depth, but also of how value is distributed across a squad that could afford to leave the likes of €100m+ rated Cole Palmer and Phil Foden at home watching from the sofa.
Brazil, meanwhile, present a similar case study in hierarchy versus valuation. Their most valuable player is listed as the emerging talent Rayan, ahead of established global stars such as Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha in the pecking order.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]
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