With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen’s reintroduction to the England squad could not have come at a better time.
After being included in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad for England’s first World Cup qualifiers back in March, Bowen was a surprise omission from the squad in May, despite finishing the 2024/25 season with nine goal contributions in his last eight Premier League games.
“I think even when I was out of the squad last time I felt like I was in a good place at Club level and sometimes you don't get selected in the squad, and that's what you have to face,” Bowen explained. “I was disappointed, but ultimately I couldn't change what happened. All I could do was have a good pre-season, try and come back in a really good place, and then work to be back in the first squad, which I've managed to do.
“Now, it's about taking my opportunities if they come about here, and once this is done go back to Club and keep doing the same things and almost kind of repeat that process and just trust in my own abilities.”
“Attacking-wise England probably have the best options they've had for a few years now,” he said. “I've been in and out of squads for a couple of years, and always had that competition for places, and I think it's really good. I think it really brings the best out of you.
“I think for me it's a really big year. I've got a really big year at Club level, and then also at international level as well. You know there's a World Cup around the corner.”
After diving straight into his famous pre-season routine on his uncle’s potato fields in the Herefordshire countryside with his Dad, Bowen picked up where he left off in terms of his goal contributions with a couple of goals and an assist at the Premier League Summer Series in the United States.
That pre-season momentum came to a halt however, when heavy defeats to Premier League newcomers Sunderland and west London rivals Chelsea - a game which England boss Tuchel attended - followed by a late Carabao Cup defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, ensured a challenging start to 2025/26 for Bowen and his West Ham colleagues.
“I think with me I'll never hide or shy away from anything. I'll always face the music, face the critics whenever it comes,” Bowen continued.
“That's the responsibility I have being captain. I think that responsibility comes when I've been there for so long as well.
“As a player, you want the best for your teammates and for the team as well, and the start that we had wasn't the one that we wanted. I think I can relate to the fans because I've been here for a long time. I understand it, I get it and ultimately I want to win, and I want the best for the Club.
“But we've all put that behind us, and we won on Sunday, and you see the celebrations that we had after the game at Nottingham Forest. In football, you go through a lot of bad times, but when the good times come as well you enjoy them that little bit more because you've been through those tough times.”
A stunning finish which set the Hammers on their way to their first points of the season at the City Ground was in fact Bowen’s tenth Premier League goal contribution since April, the only player to have reached double figures in that timeframe.
With attacking options plentiful in Tuchel’s side, our captain knows that doing what he does best at Club level will get him the recognition he deserves while on international duty.
He said: “I wouldn't say there's pressure [being in the England squad]. I think it's more enjoying that responsibility, enjoying being here.
“I spoke to the manager after the Chelsea game. He came to the game, obviously it was a disappointing result for us on a Club level, and he knew it was a difficult time, straight after a game when you lose like that.
“I think for me at Club level, I've been at West Ham for nearly six years now. I feel like consistently I've put in performances. Being back in the squad is just trying to show what I do at West Ham, week in, week out. I think that's all I can do.”
Already on nine points out of a possible nine in Group K, Bowen and his England teammates will want to continue that trend going into their upcoming games against Andorra and Serbia as they look to lock down the automatic qualification spot for next year’s World Cup.
Our No20 added: “From now, the first camp, since the season starts until the World Cup, there's a lot of time, there's a lot of games.
“A lot of opportunities for everyone to kind of gel, build those relationships even more, the manager to get his ideas across even more, and the players to take them on board and put them into the games that we have coming up.
“It seems far away the World Cup, but you know what football’s like. You get to the Christmas schedule, and then before you know it, it's May and the season's done, and the World Cup’s around the corner.
“It seems a million miles away, but I guarantee you in football it comes around very quickly.”
