Author: Alex Howell
Alex HowellBBC Sport football news reporter6 hours ago252 CommentsThere are just 369 days to go until the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.England’s next step in their bid for glory is a qualifier against Andorra on Saturday, then they play a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday.Boss Thomas Tuchel has taken his squad to Spain for a training camp before the matches as he looks to maximise the amount of days he has with his players in his attempt to lead England to World Cup glory next year.The Three Lions won their opening two World Cup qualifying games under Tuchel against Albania and Latvia and sit top of the Group K table.But including the current international window, there are just five camps for Tuchel to nail down his first choice XI and implement a style of play – and he is keen to decide on his preferred XI as soon as possible.While the likes of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka appear safe bets to start next summer, there are plenty of positions with big question marks still hanging over them.BBC Sport looks at which places in the team are likely still available for a player to make their own.Who joins Bellingham and Rice?The majority of England’s central midfield picks itself. The question is who is going to be the third player to join Bellingham and Rice if Tuchel continues to play with the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in his first two games?Liverpool’s Curtis Jones started in a deeper role in the first game against Albania before Morgan Rogers was given the chance in a more advanced role, similar to the one he plays in at club side Aston Villa, in the win over Latvia.Many thought Adam Wharton, after Crystal Palace’s success in the FA Cup and his spending time training with the England senior team, would be the player to complement the duo.But Wharton was named in the U21s again by Lee Carsley for their U21 European Championship and has since pulled out with a medical issue.Tuchel has said he likes the physicality of the English game and his sides have featured players who are both physical and powerful runners.Conor Gallagher has been called up this time after missing out on Tuchel’s first squad and is now playing in a deeper role at times for Atletico Madrid.Gallagher is in the midfielder bracket, alongside Jordan Henderson and Jones, as players who could play deeper for Tuchel, allowing Bellingham to play more advanced.Myles Lewis-Skelly has broken into the international set-up and the way he inverts into midfield from left-back means that he can be an option while England are in possession and could allow Bellingham to have a deeper starting position, so Tuchel could fit another forward-thinking player in his team.Playing Bellingham in a deeper role would accommodate Cole Palmer or Rogers as the number 10, something he did in the 3-0 win over Latvia.Konsa’s position to lose? But who joins him?The fact that John Stones was in Spain with the England squad for a couple of days despite his injury issues and lack of game time for Manchester City shows he is under consideration by Tuchel.Trevoh Chalobah has also been called up as a left-sided centre-back by Tuchel and the England manager knows the 25-year-old well, having given him his Premier League debut at Chelsea.Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa has impressed since breaking into the international set-up and the right-sided centre-back slot seems to be his at the moment.That leaves a battle for the left-sided centre-back position between Dan Burn, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi and now Chalobah.Harry Maguire, such a key player for England in previous major tournaments, seems to have a long way to go to battle his way back in as Tuchel has previously said that Chalobah is ahead of him.Does Lewis-Skelly’s versatility give him the edge?The left-back slot has been a problem position for England in the past and Luke Shaw was taken to Euro 2024 by Gareth Southgate as the only natural player for that position despite not being fit.Lewis-Skelly continued his excellent breakthrough season at Arsenal and scored on his England debut, looking exceptionally comfortable at international level.Lewis-Skelly, as mentioned, also gives Tuchel another weapon by being able to step into midfield which has the potential to free Jude Bellingham up.Lewis Hall had been in good form for Newcastle United but picked up an injury and misses the two games against Andorra and Senegal.He’s been referenced by Tuchel as someone he would like to look at and the England manager also spoke about how Shaw’s return to fitness could be important for England going forward.The right-back role appears a straightforward battle between Chelsea’s Reece James, Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker.Left-wing continues to cause problemsNobody has been able to make left-wing their own for a few years now.At the Euros last summer Southgate tried Phil Foden and at times Bellingham in that role as he looked for an answer.Marcus Rashford had been the go-to player but form and fitness meant he was not included on the international set-up for a year before Tuchel recalled him in March.But again, injury means Rashford is not included in this squad.Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon is in the squad but his form has dipped for his club side and there is also a place for FA Cup Winner Eberechi Eze.Eze scored his first England goal last month for Tuchel and the England manager is a fan of the Palace forward.He was in excellent form at the back end of the season, scoring seven goals in his final eight games of the season, including the winner in the cup final.Eze could have a good chance at making the left-wing spot his own and in international football, timing is everything.The Team Selector cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable JavaScript or try another browser.Who would you start for England?Select your best England XI4-3-3Who covers for Kane?Harry Kane’s place as the starting striker is probably the most secure as England head into the 12-month countdown before the World Cup.Ollie Watkins had taken on the challenge of being Kane’s deputy and scored a dramatic winner in the semi-final of Euro 2024 to take England to the final.However, he is a very different type of player to Kane and Tuchel has opted to give a surprise recall to striker Ivan Toney.Tuchel spoke about Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia of 30 goals in 44 games in all competitions and the fact he won the Asian Champions League.Toney is most similar to Kane in that he gives the attackers around him a focal point to play the ball into and is also an elite penalty taker, which could be crucial for the knockout games.Related topicsFootballEngland Men’s Football Team
Getty ImagesAlex HowellBBC Sport football news reporter6 June 2025468 CommentsThomas Tuchel says supporters need to be patient with England and not “over expect” when they play Andorra, the 173rd-ranked team in world football, on Saturday. The World Cup qualifier at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona is just Tuchel’s third game as England manager, and he will be looking to strengthen the Three Lions’ position in Group K. England are currently top after beating Albania and Latvia in March, but Tuchel warned that despite the differences between the teams, it could take his side some time to break down a resolute Andorra defence. “It will be on us to get going. It is on us to keep the tempo high, it is on us to bring the energy to the pitch,” he said.”It is on us to bring the attacking energy to the pitch and to do this in a relentless way.”The players come from a long and tiring season and then again accepting the role to be responsible for the majority of the game.”It can be demanding, but at the same time it is what I feel from the group – they are happy to be here, happy to show.”It is just Tuchel’s second England camp and a match they are expected to win comfortably.But the 51-year-old referenced Andorra’s match with Spain, where the European Champions were only 1-0 up at half-time and urged supporters to not get frustrated.”It is also important not to over expect from us. Not to over expect in terms of that we expect a clear result, biggest chances and goals already after 10, 20 minutes and get impatient or frustrated with ourselves. It is a test of our patience,” Tuchel said.”When Andorra played against Spain it was 1-0 at half-time with a set-piece.”It is a World Cup qualifier – you respect your opponent, you respect the quality and the defensive organisation of your opponent.”Then you understand how difficult it is to break down. We expect a 5-4-1 formation which will be like 22-25 metres in front of the goal.”Put this into consideration, get the energy right, get the detail right and get the energy level right in order to not get frustrated too soon.”I hope that we are clear enough to the players in what we demand in details and go along with the details – and the result will hopefully follow.”Related topicsFootballEngland Men’s Football Team
Getty ImagesAlex HowellBBC Sport football news reporter6 June 2025Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has withdrawn from the England squad with a minor injury.The 29-year-old will now miss the World Cup qualifying match in Andorra on Saturday (17:00 BST) and the friendly with Senegal next week.There are currently no plans to call up a replacement and England will prepare for both games with a 25-man squad.Watkins scored 17 goals in 54 games last season for Villa as they finished sixth in the Premier League.Thomas Tuchel is assessing his options before the World Cup next year and looking at who could be the understudy to captain Harry Kane.Watkins was one of three strikers named in the squad alongside Kane and Ivan Toney.Toney was recalled for the first time since featuring for England in the final of Euro 2024 and his move to Saudi Arabia.Since signing for Al-Ahli, Toney has scored 30 goals in 44 games and won the Asian Champions League.Related topicsAston VillaFootballEngland Men’s Football Team
Getty ImagesAlex HowellBBC Sport football news reporter1 hour agoCrystal Palace are expected to have to wait until the end of the month to find out if they are able to play in the 2025-26 Europa League, according to sources with knowledge of the process.The Eagles hierarchy travelled to Switzerland on Tuesday to discuss with Uefa officials about their participation in the competition.Uefa rules forbid individuals from having control of more than one club in the same competition to avoid conflicts of interest.Eagle Football – the multi-club group owned by John Textor which includes a minority shareholding in Palace – owns a majority stake in Ligue 1 side Lyon, who have also qualified for next season’s competition.Palace are arguing that Textor – who has repeatedly tried to sell his stake with the club – does not have decisive control.League places are used to determine who gets to play in the competition and given the French side finished sixth, they get priority over Palace, who ended 12th in the Premier League.The original feeling was that the decision about their participation would come in the next week but sources now say that a ruling will come towards the end of June.How did Palace get here?Palace qualified for the Europa League by beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup.Lyon finished sixth in the French top flight to initially gain a spot in the Conference League, but were promoted to the Europa League competition after Paris St-Germain – already qualified for the Champions League – won the Coupe de France.Through Eagle Football, Textor – who initially invested £90m into Crystal Palace in 2021 – owns around 45% of the club and 90% of Lyon.The American was appointed a director and joined co-owner Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer on the board.In January 2022, he invested in Brazilian club Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek. Eagle Football still has controlling interests in both sides.He became the owner of Lyon in June 2022.Because Eagle Football has only has a 45% stake in Palace, the club is not part of the group’s multi-club organisation. Palace have not signed a player from any of those clubs, although Jake O’Brien, now at Everton, did move to Lyon from their academy.Textor has tried to purchase a controlling stake in Palace in the past because it is thought he would prefer to have overall control of the club.However, he has more recently tried to buy Everton and also sought a buyer for his Palace shares.In an interview with the BBC last year, he said he does not run Palace – chairman and co-owner Parish does – although he can share his views.He also conceded the pair disagree on their views over multi-club ownership.Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis recently diluted his control at the club by placing his shares in a blind trust, when it looked like both Forest and Olympiakos – another club the Greek businessman owned – may both qualify for the Champions League.But sources close to Eagle Football believe putting those Palace shares in a ‘blind trust’ is not an option because Textor and Eagle Football do not have decisive influence over the Selhurst Park outfit.Crystal Palace and Uefa have both been approached for comment.Related topicsEuropa LeaguePremier LeagueCrystal PalaceFootball