First, Thomas Tuchel could give out the good news. In a couple of months, the England manager will have to dispense the bad.
By naming 35 players in his squad to face Uruguay and Japan, and then adding Harvey Barnes and Ben White as replacements, Tuchel is guaranteeing he will have to disappoint plenty when reducing that to the 26 who make his cut for the World Cup.
And yet, in a way, part of the German’s task is how he goes from 23 to 26: the strategy involved in finding the last three members of his party. If Tuchel takes two players for every position, and has to choose a third goalkeeper, he has three other slots available: what should be his thinking in filling them?
A fifth centre-back?
The logic of it may depend upon his best central defender. Because John Stones has played so little football for Manchester City, with no Premier League start since October, it would be a risk to take him as one of just four centre-backs, despite the excellent fitness records of Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi. Selecting five could also aid the chances of the recalled Harry Maguire, who has spent spells on the sidelines himself in recent years. Few of Tuchel’s full-backs are plausible centre-back options: only the late addition White and Reece James, his first-choice right-back, so that may be an added reason to go with five specialists in the middle.
Five full-backs?
James had spent longer on the sidelines than Stones in recent seasons, but, while he sits out the current squad, he has made 36 appearances this season. Before the Chelsea captain was hurt, the sense was that Tuchel was likelier to take four full-backs, in part because conceivably it still gives him three choices on either flank. Tino Livramento and Djed Spence can play on both sides of the back four, while he has used two centre-backs – in Konsa and Jarell Quansah – at right-back, plus Dan Burn can be the world’s tallest left-back. It may count against Trent Alexander-Arnold that, with James cemented as the first-choice right-back, Tuchel seems to prefer versatility to a second specialist.
Five central midfielders?
Another area where it had looked like Tuchel would be content with a quartet. There are other ways of bolstering the contingent in the centre of the pitch: if Jude Bellingham is classed as a No 10, he can nevertheless operate in a deeper role, while Nico O’Reilly seems likely to travel as a left-back, but spent his youth in midfield, and has played there at times in 2026. But the call-up of James Garner offers another dimension and a different way of configuring his squad. Garner is a central midfielder by preference but has flourished for David Moyes in a series of roles. Take him to the World Cup as the fifth midfielder and the 25-year-old could double up as the third right-back. Or if Tuchel took both Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton, he may have five out-and-out central midfielders.
Three No 10s?
It has looked a likely scenario, simply because of the depth of talent in the position. As it is, Tuchel may still have to omit a supposedly generational talent, in either Phil Foden or Cole Palmer, because Morgan Rogers and Bellingham – despite being excluded from the squad in October – seem shoo-ins. It would nevertheless appear imbalanced if Tuchel took four No 10s. The saving grace is that each is versatile: while Tuchel seems to want game-stretching width on the flanks, which is not Palmer’s forte, he can play off the right. Foden was used in attack in November. Eberechi Eze has scored for England as a left-winger. Morgan Gibbs-White, only really a No 10, has faded from the picture.
A fifth winger?
Of course, Eze could be that fifth winger. If Tuchel only takes four, difficult decisions beckon. On the left, two of his favourites have been Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford, each offering similar pace, but Eze can come infield more; Barnes’s addition to the group only complicates the equation. On the right, he has so far avoided making a definitive decision as to whether Noni Madueke or Jarrod Bowen is Bukayo Saka’s immediate deputy.
A third striker?
Tuchel has three No 9s in his group: an intriguing element is that Ollie Watkins, often Harry Kane’s understudy, is not one of them. If he remains out in the cold, it could seem a straight shootout between the two Dominics, Solanke and Calvert-Lewin, for the back-up role; it is harder to see both being chosen. There are other ways of finding another centre-forward: Foden did well as a false nine against Serbia in November, Bowen sometimes leads the line for West Ham, Gordon is now Newcastle’s central figure, and Rashford has played more games than any as the spearhead of a side. Gareth Southgate took three centre-forwards to Euro 2024 – though Ivan Toney’s selection was partly for his penalty-taking. Tuchel is more likely to go with two and to use one of his extra three picks elsewhere.
