It’s hard to find fault with Thomas Tuchel’s England at the moment.
The Three Lions have already qualified for the World Cup finals after winning all six of their matches in Group K, scoring 18 goals and conceding none. This perfect record is likely to continue over the next 10 days with matches against Serbia and Albania.
Tuchel achieved this by building a club mentality at international level and showed a willingness to leave out big-name players unless he was convinced they deserved a place in the team.
Players like Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden both spent time on the outside before being included in the final squad this morning.
Tuchel has selected 25 players and, at first glance, it appears to be a nice mix of youth and experience. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any problems to solve.
We look at five of them here:
NO SPECIALIST LEFT BACK
Tuchel explained that Myles Lewis-Skelly’s omission was because other players had “outperformed” him. That’s fine – all players should be chosen on merit – but it means the team doesn’t have a specialist left-back. Nico O’Reilly is a midfielder transformed into a full-back by Pep Guardiola while Djed Spence can play on the left side but prefers the other flank. Dan Burn also played at left-back for Newcastle, but it’s hard to imagine the former Brighton man facing the world’s trickiest wingers next summer. Keeping Lewis-Skelly involved in the medium to long term would have been a smart move.
PLETHORA OF DEFENSIVE BACKGROUNDS
Tuchel is tactically flexible and can exploit a number of different systems. However, most of them have no more than two defensive midfielders. Indeed, one could argue against teams where England will have the bulk of possession, with only one required. This begs the question of why today’s squad features four – Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson? Tuchel has repeatedly highlighted the positive impact of “good pros” Henderson and Burn on the squad, but the Brentford man’s continued selection appears unnecessary.
GORDON ON GREALISH?
As mentioned, Tuchel was keen to point out that players were selected based on form, with Lewis-Skelly, Morgan Gibbs-White, James Trafford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek left out on the grounds that their recent performances have been overshadowed by their positional rivals. On this basis, it is difficult to justify the inclusion of Anthony Gordon. The Newcastle winger has not scored or provided an assist in the Premier League since January. In 10 appearances this season for Everton, Grealish has four assists and scored one goal. Yes, Gordon provides a lot of energy on the left side, but will that be enough against the best in the world if there is no end product?
CAN FODEN AND BELLINGHAM PLAY TOGETHER?
While Tuchel has made it clear that he no longer views Foden as a left winger, a role he played regularly under his predecessor Gareth Southgate, and describing the Manchester City man as a number 10, it is difficult to see where he fits in an England XI. Especially since he also described Bellingham as a “number 10, who can find number nine positions”. It looks like two of England’s biggest talents are vying for the same spot. It’s inconceivable to imagine Bellingham being ruled out for England’s first game next summer, but does that leave Foden as just a substitute?
NO SECOND NUMBER NINE
Yes, this is most likely a temporary problem, with Tuchel explaining that Ollie Watkins has been left out of this squad to give the Aston Villa striker time to recover from a lingering injury worry. But it also highlights the lack of options in the number nine role should Bayern Munich goalkeeper Harry Kane suffer an injury that would limit his impact as was the case at Euro 2024. Watkins is a decent Premier League centre-forward, but nothing more. Likewise, Danny Welbeck has looked very good for Brighton this season and, like Burn and Henderson, he would have a positive impact on the team. But the choices are slim, a situation that won’t change until the finale arrives.
