By England boss Thomas Tuchel on Midfield options: “We have top players and we will find the right pairing. We have to be flexible because anything can happen, someone can be injured and it is not the moment to make a final decision for the World Cup”
Tuchel called Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton into the England senior squad for the first time for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday and Serbia in Belgrade next week.
Wharton’s subsequent withdrawal through injury also meant a call-up for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who will compete with Anderson, Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson for minutes in the next two games.
Tuchel has called up 13 different midfielders in three squads since he became England manager. It is clearly an area of the team where he has more questions than answers, but he is confident he can strike the right balance, He said:
“At the moment the four players are competing in central midfield, Jordan [Henderson], Declan [Rice], Elliot [Anderson] and Ruben [Loftus-Cheek]. They are all very mobile players and there is not one deep No 6 – maybe John Stones but he left this morning.
“The strength of our players is to be mobile, and in modern-day football that is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. We have our ideas of how we will set up and you will hopefully see some glimpses of it tomorrow and against Serbia, and from there we will go.
We have top players and we will find the right pairing. We have to be flexible because anything can happen, someone can be injured and it is not the moment to make a final decision for the World Cup.
Tuchel also confirmed Stones has withdrawn from the England squad through injury and returned to Manchester City, The 31-year-old has not added to his 83 caps since last October, and his first camp under Tuchel has come to a premature end.
The England boss said:
“Unfortunately, John Stones just left. He came with minor issues, muscular issues, to camp and didn’t progress as we thought and hoped he would.
“So, he left camp this morning (Friday) because we will not take the risk. Everyone else is available.”
While it is a gut punch for Stones, the England boss has told the defender not to be too downbeat as he remains a major part of his plans.
I hope he keeps his spirit up because he will stay important for us,” Tuchel said, The interesting thing is the midfield Tuchel’s still striving to find something in midfield.
We know that if he picks his strongest XI and everyone is fit, Jude Bellingham is No 10 and Declan Rice is No 8. There’s no doubt about that. But he still has some issues in identifying who that defensive midfielder is.
Declan Rice has sat at the base of England’s midfield for the last three international tournaments but it looks like the Arsenal midfielder is set for a change in position.
