Everton pre-season timetable & unknowns

Seems a long way off at the moment, doesn’t it? Probably just as well, given the dire state of Everton’s recruitment.

But, with no Everton football to write about for now, the next best thing on the calendar isn’t the fixtures – we’ve done that – it’s the squad prepping for 2026-27.

Here’s how we think the next eight weeks actually look, and why one player’s World Cup tournament could decide Everton’s destiny come the opening weekend.

Timetable

Date	Event
Monday 29 June (estimated)	Non-World Cup players report back for fitness testing, followed by the start of pre-season training
Saturday 18 July	Dundee (away)
Saturday 25 July	Bolton Wanderers (away)
Tuesday 28 July	Stoke City (away)
Saturday 8 August	VfB Stuttgart (away, Germany)
Wednesday 12 August	Newcastle United (Murrayfield)
Saturday 15 August	LOSC Lille (home, Hill Dickinson Stadium)
Saturday 22 August	Crystal Palace (home) — Premier League season opener

Where Everton’s World Cup players actually stand

Only four Everton players made it to the tournament, and right now they’re at completely different points in their summer.

Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye have had a rough World Cup so far with Senegal — beaten 3-1 by France, then 3-2 by Norway, and now needing something against Iraq just to keep their hopes alive.

In reality, both are heading home well before July is out either way, and both should get a normal pre-season out of it. That is, if either actually intends to be an Everton player next season.

Nathan Patterson’s situation is similar. Scotland finished third in their group after Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil and are waiting to see if they sneak in as one of the eight best third-placed sides.

If they don’t, Patterson’s straight back into Moyes’ plans with plenty of time on the clock. If they do go through, his summer – and his break – gets longer depending on how far they go. I suspect it’ll be of a similar timescale to Gana and Ndiaye. And Patterson may not be staying either.

Then there’s Jordan Pickford. England have already qualified and have ambitions to go a long way. To July 19 if you listen to Thomas Tuchel. As a result, Everton’s number one could miss Dundee, Bolton, Stoke and Stuttgart, and there’s a real chance he’s not back for Newcastle or even Lille either.

So how ready will Everton be?

Take Pickford out of it, and this looks reasonably straightforward. Senegal’s exit could be incoming, depending on the Iraq result, and even a Scotland run into the knockouts wouldn’t push Patterson’s return much past the Stuttgart trip.

Everyone else not at the tournament gets the full run of friendlies to build up before kick-off against Palace on the 22nd.

The keeper situation is the only real question mark, and it’s worth saying why that matters less than it sounds – keepers don’t need anywhere near the same time to find their feet as a striker or midfielder coming back from a long break, and Pickford’s done this before at major tournaments.

But if England go all the way to July 19, Everton could just be opening their campaign against Crystal Palace with their first-choice keeper having not played a single pre-season minute.

Moyes will have a plan for it – he usually does, and our World Cup tracker will keep you posted on exactly how each of the four gets on between now and then.