England face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier at Villa Park on Saturday, with Thomas Tuchel's side just four training camps away from next summer's World Cup. Tuchel has confirmed John Stones could be a midfielder, but the Manchester City defender has already been ruled out through injury.
Rob Dorsett
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England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that John Stones has left training camp and confirmed that captain Harry Kane will start for the match against Andorra at Villa Park.
Thomas Tuchel has a lot of questions about his attack, but those questions arise because he has a lot of talented players at his disposal.
The problems he has to deal with in the depths of the team, and in particular in the defensive midfield, are much more acute, since here he really has few options.
For the first time, Tuchel has publicly stated what we already knew: John Stones is a serious contender to be England's holding midfielder (or number six) at the World Cup.
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“There is not a single key, classic, deep #6” said the England manager. “With the possible exception of John Stones, who fits that profile.”
Pictured: Stones has played 1,119 minutes in the Premier League as a midfielder since the 2017-18 season.
“We have top players and we will find the right pairing. We will have to be flexible because anything can happen, someone can get injured.”
Indeed, Stones has already pulled out of the England squad with a muscle injury, meaning he won't be available for a tryout until next month. By then, Tuchel will have just three England caps left before he has to name his World Cup squad.
Injuries have left Tuchel's task of solving the holding midfield problem seriously hampered. He called on Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson for the international break for the first time in his tenure, but the Crystal Palace man was forced off with an adductor injury before the players arrived at St George's Park.
It means that even if Anderson makes his England debut against Andorra at Villa Park, we will all be wondering where he fits in the pecking order alongside Stones, Wharton, Jordan Henderson and the rest.
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Jamie O'Hara believes Jordan Henderson is a good role model for England but should not start for the national team.
Jude Bellingham – England's first choice No 10 is a deep bench of world-class understudies: Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White .
Declan Rice is undoubtedly England's No.8 but it is possible Tuchel's search for a solution could drag on until the start of the World Cup build-up.
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Tuchel was stung by his players' poor performances in June (and the rather dismal results that followed): a convincing 1-0 win over Andorra in Barcelona was followed by a crushing 3-1 defeat to Senegal in a home friendly.
At certain points in these games, the experimentation was obvious: Curtis Jones as a makeshift right-back, Reece James on the left, two No. 10s next to each other, and two wide forwards. Henderson was the only wide central midfielder.
In photo: England struggled against Andorra in Barcelona
This time against Andorra we can expect much less experimentation, as will almost certainly be the case in all the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel has made it clear to his players that the real preparation for the World Cup begins now. The England manager said he has deliberately kept his squad small to make it harder to get into the squad and give those who do make it a head start, and has encouraged far greater intensity and personal rivalries between players.
How will England play against Andorra?
That view has been reinforced by Dan Burn , who is expected to start at left-back in England's central defence at Villa Park on Saturday.
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Dan Byrne is delighted that Alexander Isak's future has been secured and wishes the striker all the best at Liverpool.
Unlike many coaches, Tuchel is open about dividing his centre-backs into “left” and “right”. This narrows the competition even further: in this camp, Jarrell Quansah competes with Ezri Konsa on the right, and Byrne competes with Marc Guehi on the left.
“Yes, as the chairman has decided, that's how it is,” said Byrne. “Mark is a top-class player and he's very close to joining Liverpool this summer, so I think that gives us even more motivation.”
“We are now in direct competition. People are starting to look at each other to see who they are competing with.”
The bet on Konsa starting alongside Byrne at centre-back against Andorra is a sensible one. Tuchel has already confirmed Harry Kane will start up front and suggested he will start with his strongest possible XI in Birmingham. It is a pragmatic decision after the events in Barcelona three months ago.
Pictured: Harry Kane and Thomas Tuchel during England training
Tuchel cannot afford another poor performance against the Group K underdogs – both because of his reputation and because of his team's momentum and confidence – even though England currently have a 100 per cent qualification record and are four points clear at the top of the table.
Tuchel clearly feels this autumn is a key time for him to develop the intensity and personality he wants – in terms of personnel, tactics and style of play.
In truth, after two training camps and four international matches, we still don’t fully understand what Tuchel’s England looks like.
Sourse: skysports.com
