The 2026 World Cup will see a record 48 teams competing in the United States, Canada and Mexico in what should be one of the biggest tournaments in the competition’s history.
England will be among the leading contenders looking to lift the trophy, along with Argentina, France, Spain, Brazil and Portugal. The Three Lions have only won the competition once, back in 1966 in what was the only time the side have ever reached the final.
England have hope
Despite this, Brown spoke to GOAL in association with BetWright casino about how England will be feared heading into the competition after they went unbeaten in their qualifying campaign.
“I think we are one of the teams to fear. The only thing I would say is, we have been so close now that it’s like, we know we can but we just get to that end bit… Regardless of how we get there, we know we can.
“People say ‘look who we played’ or ‘these are much better’, but that’s not the point because we still got there, getting the wins in.
“You look at the quality of the squad, it doesn’t matter about age now, these are established players that have no fear. They know what they need to do, they know what the set-up is.
“We know we can do it because we have been there before, we have nearly done it, it’s just that extra step. Regardless of the manager changing, I still feel like there is that bond in the squad which is excellent. You can see a nice buzz going around.”
England are feared
Of the 48 spots at next year's World Cup, only 42 have been filled. The remaining six decided by UEFA and inter-confederation play-offs, which take place in March.
England will be a feared side heading into the competition and Brown says that belief will be higher than ever in the camp which is packed full of world-class talent.
“The variation of different personnel is up there. You might need somebody to come on and change something in a certain way. Have we got that? I think we have.
“Take all that away, I think the experience they have as a group, the majority of them, they will understand that they can do it. It just takes that little bit more when we get to that next stage, when you get to the point where ‘this is it’. Can we?
“A lot of the players have done that, experienced it, and now you have got to believe and stay together and try to get it done. It’s going to be hard again - look at all the teams and the quality in there - but believe me, nobody will want to play England.”