England World Cup squad – on the plane or on the beach?
England World Cup squad – on the plane or on the beach? Following two underwhelming friendlies, Thomas Tuchel’s next job as England manager is to make the crucial decision on his World Cup squad. They are only friendlies, and the result is less important than what we learned from them, BUT… England’s final game before departing for the World Cup ended in more disappointment, a 1-0 defeat to Japan, and another uninspiring display following the B-team’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
Tuchel called up 37 players for these two friendlies, and it is fair to say there are still more questions than answers in terms of finding the right playing style, personnel and most importantly who will be on the plane to North America in June – and who can spend their summer on the beach. So – who’s on the plane and who’s on the beach? The biggest beneficiaries of these games are the big beasts who did not take part, and whose importance to England was shown up glaringly by their absence .
Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and most of all Harry Kane are more essential than ever if England are to have a chance of making it to the latter stages of the World Cup. Tuchel tried Dominic Solanke, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and even Phil Foden as a false nine, and none looked close to being a replacement for Kane. It was almost comical to see, during the Japan defeat, the diminutive Foden trying and failing to reach a looping cross that Kane would have headed home on tip toes.
Kane is arguably the best all-round striker in the world right now, England’s record goalscorer, captain and leader, and if he were to get injured ahead of the World Cup, all bets are off. Rice’s leadership skills and ability in midfield have elevated him to elite level, and again Tuchel’s side would be vastly diminished without him. It was worrying to hear Tuchel’s reason for sending him home without playing was that he is playing at only around 70 per cent capacity in recent weeks for Arsenal because of exhaustion.
The same could not be said of Saka, who is regularly rotated at Arsenal, but the winger is injury-prone and needs to be wrapped in cotton wool for this summer’s tournament. None of Noni Madueke, Jarrod Bowen or Cole Palmer made a case for replacing him on the right wing. Behind him Tuchel desperately needs Reece James to overcome his latest injury and be ready for the summer.
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