The Three Lions' coach is missing key personnel for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia as he looks to improve on June's poor displays
Thomas Tuchel is in a paradoxical position as England prepare for their World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia. The Three Lions could hardly be in a better place when it comes to securing their place at the tournament as they lead Group K by four points after winning their first three matches. And yet, as things stand, they look miles away from being one of the contenders to go all the way in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.
England's last camp in June proved to be a total mess as the scraped past Andorra before losing a friendly to Senegal, and they have a lot of ground to make up with just four more meet-ups before the coach names his squad for the World Cup and the countdown to the tournament begins. Things have already got off to a difficult start this time around, though, with key players Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer all ruled out due to injury.
Tuchel had many detractors in the English media as soon as he was named Gareth Southgate's long-term successor, partly just because he is German, but also due to the short-term nature of his contract, which expires after the World Cup. The team's unconvincing performances under his watch have done little to convince those doubters, but a massive scoreline against minnows Andorra and a victory in Serbia – their main rivals to top the group – would go a long way to winning those detractors round.
Here are seven questions the England coach must answer over the course of the next five days to improve the mood that currently surrounds his squad:
GettyShould Pickford still be No.1?
Jordan Pickford has been England's undisputed No.1 since 2018, but competition for his place in the line up has ramped up of late. Dean Henderson showed his big-game mentality as Crystal Palace won the FA Cup final, though he did then fail his England audition in the Senegal clash. A more serious threat to Pickford, however, is set to come from James Trafford, who has been tipped to succeed the Everton shot-stopper for the national team.
Trafford was the hero of England's Under-21 Euros triumph in 2023, and his star further rose after his incredible season with Burnley in 2024-25, where he conceded just 16 goals in 45 Championship games while boasting a save rate of 85 percent. He can also rival Pickford when it comes to saving penalties, having kept out a last-gasp spot-kick in that U21s Euro final against Spain before saving two in one match against promotion rivals Sunderland earlier this year.
Trafford outlined his ambition to take the No.1 jersey from Pickford soon after returning to Manchester City, although the club's decision to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma on deadline day means he might now struggle for regular first-team football. Some healthy competition never harmed anyone, though, and one of the qualifiers, in particular the fixture against Andorra, would be an ideal time to hand the young pretender his international debut and see how he copes with the pressure.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesWho should play at right-back?
Tuchel has made two big calls at right-back in his September squad. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been surprisingly omitted while Kyle Walker has paid the price for his abysmal display against Senegal by also being left out. It means the position is well and truly up for grabs, with there three contenders among the group this week: Reece James, Tino Livramento and first-timer Djed Spence.
James is the obvious choice given his experience, not to mention the fact that he won the Champions League with Chelsea while playing for Tuchel. However, his injury history – six lengthy absences due to hamstring problems within the last four years, including a long spell out after surgery – means it is risky to build towards him being the first-choice right-back for the World Cup. The 25-year-old is also not necessarily the first choice for Chelsea having lost his place to Malo Gusto in the last two matches.
Livramento, meanwhile, has gotten used to playing on the left for Newcastle even though he is naturally right-footed, while the same is true of Spence, who is making a big early impression on Thomas Frank at Tottenham on the left side of defence.
With Alexander-Arnold likely to return to the squad once he settles in at Real Madrid, this is a huge opportunity for all three candidates to stake their claim to be his main competition for a starting berth.
AFPHow can he improve his relationship with the squad?
Tuchel has a confusing relationship with his players. News of him partying with members of Chelsea's Champions League-winning team earlier this year suggested he can be relatable, but his habit of speaking out of turn, such as saying his mother finds Jude Bellingham 'repulsive' – something which he apologised for last week – showed how easy it can be for him to get on the wrong side of them.
The England boss evidently does not have the same close bond with the squad that Southgate did, and he likely never will. But Tuchel also needs to avoid being seen as another Fabio Capello, who had a distant and often fractious relationship with his charges, which unsurprisingly did the team no favours.
Tuchel needs to make the most of the short amount of time together to get to know his players better and, above all, avoid putting his foot in it again.
GettyWho can fill Bellingham's boots?
Even after being insulted by the manager's mother, Bellingham remains the heartbeat of this England team, just as he was in the final few years with Southgate. He will be sorely missed in this camp as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery and someone needs to fill the void he leaves in both quality and bloody-mindedness, particularly when England visit Serbia.
Elliot Anderson, who has earned his first call-up on the back of some standout performances at the U21 Euros, is the player who shares the most traits with Bellingham of all those in the squad. He can play in the midfield two as a box-to-box operator and also proved adept playing as Nottingham Forest's No.10 when Morgan Gibbs-White was absent last season.
Gibbs-White can also take the baton from Bellingham in an attacking sense while Morgan Rogers, a West Midlands native like Bellingham, has played in the No.10 role for Aston Villa and did so for England against Latvia back in March. Both Rogers and Gibbs-White are at the most exciting stages of their careers and this is a golden opportunity for them to take an extra step forward and take on new leadership responsibilities in Bellingham's absence.
