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Now that the noise around his England squad selection has died down, Thomas Tuchel's attention turns to the more pressing matter: deciding which of those players actually make it onto the pitch.
A clear theme of the head coach's announcement was that of balance. Rather than pack the group with England's enviable wealth of attacking talent, Tuchel wanted to spread his options across the pitch. “The squad has a significant number of players that will compete for starting minutes and starting places,†he said.
But even with that high level of competition, there are clear first-choice options in most positions. In his 4-2-3-1 setup, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are the established pair at the base of midfield, while Harry Kane, fresh from scoring 61 goals for Bayern Munich last season, is untouchable up front.
Defence also looks fairly settled. There may be room for the odd surprise, but the quartet of Nico O'Reilly, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Reece James look the likeliest back four.
The real uncertainty lies in the three forward roles behind Kane.
Ahead of England's penultimate World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand tonight, The Athletic breaks down the key dilemmas Tuchel faces in those advanced positions.
Reigniting Saka's spark
The 2025-26 season marked a career high for Bukayo Saka, as he won his first Premier League title with Arsenal and played in a Champions League final. At an individual level, though, the past two seasons have been challenging, with fitness issues and patchy form preventing him from reaching his peak.
The graphic below shows that Saka's goals per 90 minutes (blue dots), and expected goals per 90 (red dots), have both declined since 2023-24, showing that he is finding and finishing fewer chances.
This dip in output is partly down to tactical reasons, with Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta shifting to a more defence-oriented approach (Arsenal scored 20 fewer goals last season than the 91 they managed in 2023-24).
But it also reflects Arsenal's reliance on Saka as their primary attacking outlet. They funnelled 41.7 per cent of their attacks down his flank. The only comparable Premier League attacker in terms of importance was Jarrod Bowen at West Ham. Arsenal's opponents have quickly wised up to this, regularly doubling or even tripling up on Saka. Last season, 90.3 per cent of his passes were made under pressure, the highest share of any non-centre-forward.
The easiest way for Tuchel to relieve that pressure is to make England less predictable by varying their patterns of attack. Overlapping runs from the right-back should also help. At Arsenal, Saka has been at his most dangerous when playing alongside Ben White, whose runs on the outside pull defenders away and give him the room to cut inside and shoot.
Saka has also looked exhausted for stretches of the season. He played 15,312 Premier League minutes before turning 24, the 10th-highest figure in the competition's history, and that load appears to be catching up with him. Arteta eased the burden by bringing in Noni Madueke at the start of last season, and the winger is a capable understudy, offering a similar explosive one-v-one threat.
Tuchel admires his ability to make an impact with limited minutes. “Noni was excellent for us in the matches that he played,†he said at his World Cup squad announcement on May 21. “I believe he can be a difference-maker. He is used to coming on and coming off, which can be a big advantage.†There is a case for rotating the pair regularly, particularly in the group stages.
Rashford or Gordon?
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could face a similar dilemma on the left side of attack next season after Anthony Gordon joined from Newcastle United for €80million (£69m). Marcus Rashford, who spent last season on loan at Barcelona, is also keen to make his move permanent.
The two players profile similarly as rapid, direct wide threats. But, as their carry maps below show, Rashford is more inclined to drive infield and attack the box, while Gordon prefers to hug the touchline, with the majority of his carries aimed towards the byline.
Rashford's movement also mimics an inside forward rather than a classic, chalk-on-boots winger, ranking in the 95th percentile for runs in behind last season. That his run style ranks similarly to Luis Diaz, Harry Kane's team-mate at Bayern, is encouraging. Kane regularly drops deep, and dovetails well with wingers who aggressively attack the space he vacates.
While Rashford offers more attacking thrust with his off-ball runs, Tuchel values Gordon's relentless work out of possession.
“He just collects high-intensity runs, he collects metres in sprints, and this is so, so good,†Tuchel told reporters after England's 5-0 qualifying win over Latvia last October. “Now we play a high press and he's important against the ball.â€
Rashford struggles to match that same doggedness when winning the ball back, applying, on average, 14 fewer high pressures per game than Gordon in the Champions League last season. Tuchel's choice boils down to whether Rashford's greater attacking potency outweighs Gordon's out-of-possession commitment.
Bellingham or Rogers?
One of Tuchel's priorities was to ensure competition for places remained high without damaging the squad's team spirit. “I think it is possible to compete for positions as accomplices and you don't have to be enemies,†said Tuchel on May 21, before pointing to Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers as players who are “friends anywayâ€.
Even with that camaraderie, both will be desperate to make the No 10 position their own. Again, the decision is laden with trade-offs. If Tuchel wants extra midfield support for Rice and Anderson, then Bellingham is the obvious choice.
The Athletic's player roles dashboard, which uses data from Opta and SkillCorner to outline player functions, captures Bellingham's profile well. He is the archetypal all-action, box-to-box midfielder, snapping at heels out of possession while arriving late in the box to make decisive contributions in attack.
Bellingham is far more active defensively than Rogers, making 4.11 tackles and 1.13 interceptions per 1,000 opposition touches, roughly double Rogers' equivalent figures of 2.02 and 0.62. Rogers' impact has been largely limited to final-third contributions, with his powerful ball carrying particularly effective on counterattacks. With more licence to focus on attack, Rogers scored 10 league goals, four more than Bellingham, while his six assists were two more.
Beyond their contributions on and off the ball, how they combine with Kane is another important consideration. A frequent criticism of England under previous head coach Gareth Southgate was that the No 10s occupied the spaces Kane likes to drop into. Bellingham tends to stay within that central channel, while Rogers is more inclined to drift out to the left. Tuchel will need to decide whose movement is more compatible with Kane's.
Tuchel has two games to make any late adjustments to his attacking formula — the game against New Zealand in Tampa, and Wednesday's game against Costa Rica in Orlando (both 9pm UK, 4pm ET). After that, the serious stuff begins.
