Tuchel’s selection dilemmas – and who would you pick?

The 2026 World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 369 days.

England will play a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday before moving on to the next stage of their quest for glory with a qualifying game against Andorra on Saturday.

In an effort to win the World Cup for England in the following year, boss Thomas Tuchel has sent his squad to Spain for a training camp before the games in order to maximize the number of days he has with his players.

The Three Lions are top of Group K having defeated Albania and Latvia in their opening two World Cup qualifying games under Tuchel.

However, with the current international window, Tuchel has only five camps in which to pick his preferred XI and implement a playstyle.

There are still many positions with significant question marks over them, even though the likes of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Saka appear safe bets to debut the following summer.

The majority of central midfield selections in England are made by themselves. If Tuchel continues to play in the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in his first two games, who will become the third player to join Bellingham and Rice?

In the first game of his career, Liverpool’s Curtis Jones played a more advanced role before Morgan Rogers was given a chance to play a more advanced role in the win over Latvia, similar to the one he does at Aston Villa.

After Crystal Palace’s success in the FA Cup and his time training with the England senior team, many believed Adam Wharton would be the player to add to the duo.

However, Wharton, who had a medical issue, was once again chosen by Lee Carsley for their European Championship.

Tuchel has argued that his teams have featured runners who are both powerful and physically fit, and that he enjoys the physicality of the English game.

After missing out on Tuchel’s first squad, Conor Gallagher has been called up this time around for Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher and Jones both fall under the midfielder category, making them more likely to contribute to Bellingham’s development.

As a result of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s transition into the international set-up, he can play left-back as a substitute while England are in possession. This will allow Bellingham to play a deeper starting position, allowing Tuchel to add another forward-thinking player to his squad.

John Stones is being considered by Tuchel because he spent a few days with the England squad in Spain despite his injuries and lack of playing time for Manchester City.

Tuchel has also recalled Trevoh Chalobah, who made his Premier League debut at Chelsea, and the England manager is familiar with the 25-year-old.

Ezri Konsa has impressed since joining Aston Villa’s international lineup, and the right-sided centre-back slot seems to be his current position.

Dan Burn, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, and now Chalobah square off in the left-hand corner.

Since Luke Shaw was the only natural player in the left-back slot, which was a problem for England in the past, Gareth Southgate has chosen him as the only natural player for the position.

Lewis-Skelly looked extraordinarily at ease at international level as he continued his excellent breakthrough at Arsenal and scored on his England debut.

As previously mentioned, Lewis-Skelly also gives Tuchel a weapon by allowing him to play midfield, which has the potential to free up Jude Bellingham.

Although Lewis Hall had good form for Newcastle United, he injured himself and will miss the two games against Senegal and Andorra.

Tuchel has mentioned him as someone he would like to look at, and the England manager also discussed how Shaw’s return to fitness might have an impact on the future of the country.

For the past few years, nobody has been able to establish themselves as a left-wing.

Southgate sought an answer at the Euros last summer by trying Phil Foden and occasionally Bellingham in that capacity.

Marcus Rashford had always been the favorite player, but Tuchel called him back in March after he was recalled due to form and fitness.

However, Rashford is not a part of this squad because of injury.

Anthony Gordon, who won the FA Cup with Newcastle, is also in the squad, but his performance for his club side has slowed.

The England manager is a fan of the Palace forward and Eze scored his first goal for England last month for Tuchel.

At the tail end of the season, he was excellent, scoring seven goals in his final eight games, including the cup final.

As England approaches the 12-month drew period before the World Cup, Harry Kane’s place as England’s starting striker is probably the most secure.

In the semi-final of Euro 2024, England defeated Portugal 3-2 in the title match. Ollie Watkins had accepted the challenge of playing Kane’s deputy.

However, he and Kane are a very different player, and Tuchel chose to surprise recall Ivan Toney as the starting striker.

Tuchel mentioned Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia, which included scoring 30 goals in 44 games across all competitions, and his Asian Champions League victory.