Veteran who hasn't played for England for 8 years is making a surprise run for the World Cup

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — At the age of 35 and in the form of his life, England may have found the unlikely answer to a decade-long problem just in time for the World Cup.

Whether coach Thomas Tuchel takes a chance on a veteran striker who hasn't played for his country for eight years, is a question that's growing ever louder.

“You can’t not take him if he’s doing what he’s doing now at the end of the season,” England great Rio Ferdinand told watchers of his YouTube channel last month when Brighton's Danny Welbeck was overlooked by the national team again.

Welbeck's best days were supposed to be behind him. A product of Manchester United's famed youth academy, he went on to join Arsenal. A Premier League title and FA Cup winner, he was part of England squads at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

But the last of his 42 caps came in September 2018 and, after injuries and free transfers to Watford and Brighton, his career trajectory appeared to be in decline.

Or perhaps not.

With 13 goals this term, Welbeck is having his most prolific Premier League season. No other Englishman in England's top flight has scored more.

Harry Kane and Mason Greenwood are the only Englishmen to have outscored him across Europe's top leagues.

That, in itself, speaks to the longstanding problem England has had in attack.

Kane, the nation's all-time record goal-scorer, has been England's standout player for a decade. He is the captain and has been the focal point of a team that reached back-to-back European Championship finals and the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup. But finding an effective backup has been near-impossible.

From Jamie Vardy to Ivan Toney, 10 strikers have made their England debuts since Kane's first cap in 2015. No one has come close to displacing him.

Finding an alternative to ease the strain on Kane's aging limbs, he turns 33 in July, has been problematic.

Ollie Watkins has proved the best option from the substitutes' bench, memorably scoring a dramatic late winner against the Netherlands in the semifinals of the Euros in 2024. While his form has dipped this season, a recent goal surge of seven in eight games could have come at the right time for his World Cup ambitions.

Marcus Rashford has also played the role as backup, but his preferred position is on the left of the attack.

England's issue has been the need to alter its style of play in the absence of Kane, who has the unusual role of dropping deep to act as playmaker, while also being his country's most lethal finisher.

There is barely anyone like Bayern Munich striker Kane in world soccer, let alone England.

With 56 goals in 48 games this season, he has fired Bayern to the German title and the semifinals of the Champions League. He has also led England to the World Cup with a 100% qualifying record, and without conceding a goal.

It is generally accepted that Tuchel will not find another Kane ahead of the June-July tournament. Rather it is a case of finding an adequate and effective backup, which is where Welbeck comes in, with growing calls for him to be included in the squad.

“He’s been scoring goals, but it’s not just his goal-scoring, it’s his hold-up play, his work-rate and his experience," another England great, Wayne Rooney, told his podcast recently. “He’s probably the best English striker this season in the Premier League."

The statistics back that up, with Welbeck's latest goal coming as a sub in Brighton's 3-0 win against Chelsea on Tuesday.

Given his age, Ferdinand believes Welbeck will also bring the right attitude to a squad that will be together for more than six weeks if England goes all the way to the final of the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ferdinand described Welbeck as “someone who’s actually happy to be just a bit-part player, (who) knows he’s going to get 20 minutes here and there.”

Tuchel's decision to leave Welbeck out of his latest squad last month raised eyebrows with Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both included instead.

“For me, I have to control what I can control,” Welbeck told the BBC last month. “It’s really nice that my name is being mentioned with that, that’s a positive for me. But I don’t like to give energy to things that I can’t control."

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tottenham Hotspur's Rodrigo Bentancur, left, and Brighton and Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match in London, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern and Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck, center, celebrates scoring their third goal during the Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea, Tuesday, April 21 2026, in Brighton, England. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern and Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck celebrates scoring their third goal during the Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea, Tuesday, April 21 2026, in Brighton, England. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals are moving from their longtime home at Kauffman Stadium to the downtown Crown Center area, partnering with Hallmark Cards on a $3 billion project that includes a mixed-used development with a new ballpark as its centerpiece.

Royals owner John Sherman was joined by Hallmark chairman Don Hall Jr., Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with other local and state dignitaries, in making the announcement Wednesday near Hallmark headquarters.

While the finalized master plan has yet to be complete, Sherman said the $1.9 billion stadium would break ground next year in the middle of Crown Center as part of the first phase of an 85-acre project. Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.

“This is a partnership between two treasured Kansas City institutions,” Sherman said. “We are committed to creating a vision which honors our history, the rich past of both organizations, while reinvigorating and reimagining what our future can be together.”

The announcement came about a week after Kansas City officials passed an ordinance authorizing City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a $600 million deal to help the Royals move downtown. Most believed the stadium would sit on Washington Square Park, which is next to Union Station, but it will instead be located just south of it, with the park featured in the development.

Hallmark intends to build a new headquarters in the area, which is connected by a streetcar to the Power & Light District, where the T-Mobile Center serves as its anchor. That part of downtown Kansas City will provide the backdrop beyond the outfield fence.

Officials touted the availability of public parking already in the area and convenient traffic flow from nearby highways.

Missouri's contribution comes from a law enacted last year that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums in the state, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

“We think it's a great investment for our Missouri taxpayers, because this does not affect existing programs,” Kehoe said. “The ripple effect from this facility will truly be far-reaching into rural Missouri and other parts of the state.”

The Royals have insisted they would leave Kauffman Stadium when their lease expires at the Truman Sports Complex in 2031, and the intention of Sherman ever since purchasing the club in 2019 was to build a downtown ballpark as its replacement.

Yet reaching Wednesday's announcement did not come without plenty of pitfalls.

The biggest stumbling block came in April 2024, when the Chiefs joined the Royals in a plan to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and replace Kauffman Stadium. The plan hinged on the extension of a sales tax that had been paying for stadium upkeep, and voters in Jackson County, Missouri, overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, forcing the franchises to go their own way.

The legislature in neighboring Kansas aggressively pursued the Chiefs, committing last December to issuing $2.4 billion in bonds to cover 60% of the cost of a new $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. The NFL franchise ultimately decided to move across the state line, where it also will build a new training facility in the nearby suburb of Olathe, Kansas.

Officials in Kansas briefly pursued the Royals, too, but their interest in the MLB franchise had always been lukewarm.

The Royals had been weighing several options in recent months. But they ultimately rejected an option in the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and allowed a deadline to pass for a site north of downtown and across the Missouri River in Clay County, Missouri.

Economists have long concluded that subsidizing stadiums isn’t worth the cost for communities because the venues pull economic activity away from other parts of the area, rather than expanding the overall economy. Yet states and cities continually provide money to renovate stadiums or build new ones — 49 of the 60 used by MLB or NFL teams are publicly owned or sit on public land.

One of the stadiums that Sherman has cited as an example of what's possible in Kansas City is Truist Park in Atlanta.

The stadium was a public-private partnership in which the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority issued up to $397 million in bonds, the county raised millions more from transportation taxes and businesses added millions in cash. The Braves contributed the remaining money for the park and The Battery, a mixed-used development, with a total cost of more than $1.1 billion.

“There are many great ballpark neighborhoods in Major League Baseball,” Sherman said, “but this is a bigger project with more land in downtown and in the heart of the city. We are bringing a modern, state-of-the-art ballpark experience to our fans, closer to our public transportation and where more people work and live.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Coaches for the Kansas City Royals stand for the national anthem at Kauffman Stadium before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Baltimore Orioles' Taylor Ward, left, and Gunnar Henderson (2) warm up on deck before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Carter Jensen, right, celebrates with Jac Caglianone (14) after scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Michael Massey during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

People gather under storm clouds in a parking lot outside Kauffman Stadium after a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. throws to first for the double play hit into by Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)