Tuchel's selection dilemmas - and who would you pick?

BBC News

9 hours ago

There are just 369 days to go until the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.England's next step in their bid for glory is a qualifier against Andorra on Saturday, then they play a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday.Boss Thomas Tuchel has taken his squad to Spain for a training camp before the matches as he looks to maximise the amount of days he has with his players in his attempt to lead England to World Cup glory next year.The Three Lions won their opening two World Cup qualifying games under Tuchel against Albania and Latvia and sit top of the Group K table.But including the current international window, there are just five camps for Tuchel to nail down his first choice XI and implement a style of play - and he is keen to decide on his preferred XI as soon as possible.While the likes of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka appear safe bets to start next summer, there are plenty of positions with big question marks still hanging over them.BBC Sport looks at which places in the team are likely still available for a player to make their own.
Who joins Bellingham and Rice?
The majority of England's central midfield picks itself. The question is who is going to be the third player to join Bellingham and Rice if Tuchel continues to play with the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in his first two games?Liverpool's Curtis Jones started in a deeper role in the first game against Albania before Morgan Rogers was given the chance in a more advanced role, similar to the one he plays in at club side Aston Villa, in the win over Latvia.Many thought Adam Wharton, after Crystal Palace's success in the FA Cup and his spending time training with the England senior team, would be the player to complement the duo.But Wharton was named in the U21s again by Lee Carsley for their U21 European Championship and has since pulled out with a medical issue.Tuchel has said he likes the physicality of the English game and his sides have featured players who are both physical and powerful runners.Conor Gallagher has been called up this time after missing out on Tuchel's first squad and is now playing in a deeper role at times for Atletico Madrid.Gallagher is in the midfielder bracket, alongside Jordan Henderson and Jones, as players who could play deeper for Tuchel, allowing Bellingham to play more advanced.Myles Lewis-Skelly has broken into the international set-up and the way he inverts into midfield from left-back means that he can be an option while England are in possession and could allow Bellingham to have a deeper starting position, so Tuchel could fit another forward-thinking player in his team.Playing Bellingham in a deeper role would accommodate Cole Palmer or Rogers as the number 10, something he did in the 3-0 win over Latvia.
Konsa's position to lose? But who joins him?
The fact that John Stones was in Spain with the England squad for a couple of days despite his injury issues and lack of game time for Manchester City shows he is under consideration by Tuchel.Trevoh Chalobah has also been called up as a left-sided centre-back by Tuchel and the England manager knows the 25-year-old well, having given him his Premier League debut at Chelsea.Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa has impressed since breaking into the international set-up and the right-sided centre-back slot seems to be his at the moment.That leaves a battle for the left-sided centre-back position between Dan Burn, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi and now Chalobah.Harry Maguire, such a key player for England in previous major tournaments, seems to have a long way to go to battle his way back in as Tuchel has previously said that Chalobah is ahead of him.
Does Lewis-Skelly's versatility give him the edge?
The left-back slot has been a problem position for England in the past and Luke Shaw was taken to Euro 2024 by Gareth Southgate as the only natural player for that position despite not being fit.Lewis-Skelly continued his excellent breakthrough season at Arsenal and scored on his England debut, looking exceptionally comfortable at international level.Lewis-Skelly, as mentioned, also gives Tuchel another weapon by being able to step into midfield which has the potential to free Jude Bellingham up.Lewis Hall had been in good form for Newcastle United but picked up an injury and misses the two games against Andorra and Senegal.He's been referenced by Tuchel as someone he would like to look at and the England manager also spoke about how Shaw's return to fitness could be important for England going forward.The right-back role appears a straightforward battle between Chelsea's Reece James, Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City's Kyle Walker.
Left-wing continues to cause problems
Nobody has been able to make left-wing their own for a few years now.At the Euros last summer Southgate tried Phil Foden and at times Bellingham in that role as he looked for an answer.Marcus Rashford had been the go-to player but form and fitness meant he was not included on the international set-up for a year before Tuchel recalled him in March.But again, injury means Rashford is not included in this squad.Newcastle's Anthony Gordon is in the squad but his form has dipped for his club side and there is also a place for FA Cup Winner Eberechi Eze.Eze scored his first England goal last month for Tuchel and the England manager is a fan of the Palace forward.He was in excellent form at the back end of the season, scoring seven goals in his final eight games of the season, including the winner in the cup final.Eze could have a good chance at making the left-wing spot his own and in international football, timing is everything.
Who covers for Kane?
Harry Kane's place as the starting striker is probably the most secure as England head into the 12-month countdown before the World Cup.Ollie Watkins had taken on the challenge of being Kane's deputy and scored a dramatic winner in the semi-final of Euro 2024 to take England to the final.However, he is a very different type of player to Kane and Tuchel has opted to give a surprise recall to striker Ivan Toney.Tuchel spoke about Toney's impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia of 30 goals in 44 games in all competitions and the fact he won the Asian Champions League.Toney is most similar to Kane in that he gives the attackers around him a focal point to play the ball into and is also an elite penalty taker, which could be crucial for the knockout games.